2
The Theory of Individual Selection...And Its Flaws
Richard Dawkins theory is a powerful tool for cracking the
mysteries of the cosmos. But it has a limitation. In reality, genes were
never the loners Dawkins makes them out to be. Though the Oxford
don labels them "selfish," even he is forced to admit that genes were
compelled to coagulate in teams, just as their minions--from termites to
humans--would later be.
Current evolutionary theory, known technically as "neo-
Darwinism," says that preservation of his genes is the first priority of
the individual--preservation for himself, his children, and for his
remaining relatives. And as the examples in previous chapters show,
when it comes to children, at least, that view is largely right. Yet it is
missing something vital in the human experience. When Rudolph
Valentino died, numerous women committed suicide.1 Survival for
themselves and their immediate families was the last thing on their
mind.
Underlying the notion of genetic selfishness is another, even
more basic assumption--the theory of individual selection. When it
comes to picking and pruning, says this concept, evolution sorts
creatures one at a time. Hence the most potent impulse in the makeup
of every micro and macro beast is the drive for personal survival.
But somewhere deep inside, each of us knows that individual
survival is not his only raison d'être. So thoroughly is that fact built into
us that we find it in our physical structure. We come complete at birth
with an arsenal of survival weapons. But we're also equipped with
devices that can negate our existence. These are our self-destruct
mechanisms.
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