[ExI] The Selfish Gene? Maybe not----

[BillK]

On 17 March 2015 at 16:17, spike wrote:
> Ja.  I see good explanations for that kind of behavior which are compatible
> with what Dawkins wrote in Selfish Gene.  I don't see that his notions are
> in any serious danger, even while contemplating the next really cool step: a
> philosophical symbiosis of Dawkins and the concept of the Nash equilibrium.
> Those are two powerful concepts which play well together.  Truth is that
> way.
<snip>
>


I think the new reasoning is that the selfish gene is too simplistic.
It ignores too many exceptions. The selfish gene is a lovely story and
very appealing. That's why it has lasted for 30 years.

But new genetics has found that genes don't stand alone. A gene may or
may not be expressed depending on many other factors. The selfish gene
doesn't make decisions on its own. It's complicated!

<http://aeon.co/magazine/science/why-its-time-to-lay-the-selfish-gene-to-rest/>

BillK