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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'кtre.  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.

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'кtre.  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.