Born in Nairobi in 1941, English biologist Richard Dawkins is
currently Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at
Oxford University, and is one of the most prominent biologists alive today.
He is probably best known for his popularization of the Williams Revolution, "selfish gene" theory, described in his book of that title. As an ethologist, with a principal interest in animal behaviour and its relation to natural selection, he popularized the idea that the gene is the principal unit of selection in evolution. This gene point of view also provides a basis for understanding Kin Selection which was originally suggested by J. B. S. Haldane and expanded by W.D.Hamilton
Dawkins has been one of the major proponents of sociobiological theory and was the originator of the term meme which spawned the theory of memetics.
He is also an ardent atheist; in Viruses of the Mind, he interprets religions using the memetics theory.
His books include:
- The Selfish Gene (1976; second edition, 1989)
- The Extended Phenotype (1982)
- The Blind Watchmaker (1986)
- River out of Eden (1995)
- Climbing Mount Improbable (1996)
- Unweaving the Rainbow (1998)
His essays include:
- Viruses of the Mind (1993)
External links:
- A web-site on Dawkins: