This blog post examines whether altruistic behavior in non-human animals can be explained by simple genetic laws. Richard Dawkins states in his book The Selfish Gene that altruistic behavior is a unique trait exclusive to humans, distinct from non-human animals. First, the altruistic behavior Dawkins refers to here is defined as a kind of sacrifice: an action that lowers one’s own...
Richard Dawkins’ ‘The Selfish Gene’: Why Can’t It Explain All Animal Behavior?
This blog post examines why Richard Dawkins’ ‘The Selfish Gene’ theory cannot fully explain all complex animal behaviors, using various examples. In his book ‘The Selfish Gene’, Richard Dawkins presented a creative and innovative interpretation of genes and evolutionary theory. His central argument in this book is that ‘selfish’ genes, which are well-suited to the environment and...
The Selfish Gene: Can It Explain Human Nature?
In this blog post, we examine the influence of genes on human nature through ‘The Selfish Gene’ and discuss how well Dawkins’ argument explains human behavior. As life sciences have recently become a major topic, the term ‘selfish gene’ is being cited across various fields. I consider Richard Dawkins a scientist who captivates the world’s attention with his astonishing logic...
Brave New World (What is the price of happiness?)
In this blog post, I reflect on reading 『Brave New World』 and reconsider what it means to be human and what true happiness is. Recently, as I found myself with some free time, a friend recommended a book and lent me their copy of ‘Brave New World’. My friend briefly explained the book’s setting—a fictional future world where human happiness is the paramount value—and our opinions on...
Me Before You (Is true love holding on until the end, or letting go?)
In this blog post, I deeply contemplate the meaning of true love and the choices between life and death through Jojo Moyes’ Me Before You. It’s been a long time since a book completely absorbed me for an entire day. That book is Jojo Moyes’s novel Me Before You. When I first saw it in the bookstore, I thought the cover was pretty, but its immense thickness made me have no...
What is the essence of memes? What is the new perspective on cultural evolution?
In this blog post, based on Dawkins’ meme theory, we explore the role memes play in cultural evolution, their essence, and their evolutionary process. In his book The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins presents a gene-centered theory of evolution, describing living organisms as ‘survival machines for genes’. He argues that genes act selfishly to replicate themselves and that all...
Can Alan Chalmers’ Observations Serve as the Starting Point for Scientific Theory?
This blog post examines critical perspectives on Alan Chalmers’ observations and discusses the importance and role of observation in scientific theory. In ‘What Is This Thing Called Science?’, Alan Chalmers presents a negative perspective on ‘observation’. This is a view commonly accepted not only by Alan Chalmers but also within the relevant academic community. They argue that...