A biologist who believes, like Dawkins, Maynard Smith, Trivers, Fisher, and Williams, that evolution happens to genes, and not species. Dawkins borrows from Hamilton, the rhetorical device of personifying the gene to explain its behavior. Both scientists imagine that genes act as if on purpose, meaning genes can be described with metaphors like “selfish” or “cooperating,” when in reality genes are not conscious in that way. This rhetorical device enables Dawkins to explain evolution from a hypothetical “gene’s eye view.” Dawkins also borrows Hamilton’s method of calculating the genetic relatedness between two individuals.
William (Bill) D. Hamilton Quotes in The Selfish Gene
The The Selfish Gene quotes below are all either spoken by William (Bill) D. Hamilton or refer to William (Bill) D. Hamilton. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 12
Quotes
I agree with Axelrod and Hamilton that many wild animals and plants are engaged in ceaseless games of the Prisoner’s Dilemma, played out in evolutionary time.
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William (Bill) D. Hamilton Quotes in The Selfish Gene
The The Selfish Gene quotes below are all either spoken by William (Bill) D. Hamilton or refer to William (Bill) D. Hamilton. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 12
Quotes
I agree with Axelrod and Hamilton that many wild animals and plants are engaged in ceaseless games of the Prisoner’s Dilemma, played out in evolutionary time.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
