The selfish gene controls you

Our genes made use. We animals exist for their preservation and are nothing more than their throwaway survival machines. The world of the selfish gene is one of savage competition, ruthless exploitation, and deceit. But what of the acts of apparent altruism found in nature - the bees who commit suicide when they sting to protect the hive, or the birds who warn the flock of an approaching hawk ? Do they contravene the fundamental law of gene selfishness ? By no means: Dawkins shows that the selfish gene is also the subtle gene. And he holds out the hope that our species - alone on earth - has the power to rebel against the designs of the selfish gene. This book is a call to arms. It is both a manual and a manifesto, and it grips like a thriller.

From what i hear creatures are just vessels for the survival of this genes and it effects the way we think to it we are machines i think. I want some people to research this with me and if your interested U2U me or email me at [email protected]

how do you stop it from influencing you does anyone know?

Can you give a source for your quote?

Thanks

You want research? First, research where you took that quote and post the link in that post.
Now, after you have done that, look around and see just how unselfish people are. We give all the time. We are not animals, we are humans. There are more differences between us and animals besides clothes, cars and cable TV.
We aren't slaves to instinctive beahvior, like the bees that your mystery author mentions, we have the ability to choose. We choose to run back into a burning building to save the stranger, or jump into the river to pull the drowning stranger to safety, or to jump on the grenade to save our buddies. Instinct does not drive us to that, we choose to do that because we were engineered by a loving Creator.
That is why I might have a little hope left for us; not because of some "subtle gene", but because acts of heroism you can read about everyday are chosen actions.

[edit on 7-7-2005 by Thomas Crowne]

Ijust typed in selfish gene in google and searched on page one or two of the google page that opened.

Sorry if i created controversy about this subject but I was worried about the gene affecting peoples behaviour and i myself did not give it the name.
Im just exprecing my concern about the genes influence on people.

Ill look for that source

ya i found the source go to

www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk...



Its kind of scary what it says over there i got onother paragraph about these things from a book i have if anyones interested in hearing it.

what im saying crowne is that our genes affect certain aspects of our behaviour inorder for us to survive. Im not saying people are selfish the quote i got says that the genes manipulates us in such a way that it allows us to survive in a variety of forms that come specailly in humans.

I have heard little things about this too, and am going to get the Richard Dawkins book on it when i have some money available. I must admit, a "selfish" gene would not surprise me in the slightest! Just look around the world, and at some of the contrasts there are, from poor people sleeping on the streets, to multi-millionaires living in mansions and not caring about the other less fortunate people and thriving for more for themselves.

I read something about god being a idea used inspired by the gene to make survive better therefore saving the gene.

I know a store were they sell all kinds of books it should be at chapters.

I have an instinct to survive.

In most situations, my survival is paramount over yours. I'll breath your air and eat your food and even eat you, if it comes down to survival. (stop laughing !!!)

I have no idea if this is encoded into us on a genetic level, but it seems to be a common trait with all life forms that we know of.

Even my tulips put out little bulbs to propigate, though I don't think the Viridichic intentionally mollest the Cummins without human intervention, but they all want to survive.
"Queen of the Night", she's a whore that will pollinate with any tulip, and on occasion, try to get it on with other members of the bulb family,

Be thankful, (not to a deity, (unless that's your belief), that you have that trait to survive and breed, without it the planet would be void of life.

If i'm only a "vessels for the survival of this gene", it invalidates me as a thinking, conscious being.

And I don't like the thought of that.......................................

.
Actually there are genetic reasons to be selfish and genetic reasons not to be selfish.

You have to survive to reproduce, so obviously selfishness would be condusive to that end.

You have to be unselfish [at least to your young], when it comes to our species that has a multi year childhood.

So we probably have some genetic tendancies in each direction.

It could easily be that during various stages of life one's selfishness and unselfishness change their proportions. It seems pretty obvious that it varies from person to person.

I don't think all selfishness is bad and all unselfishness is good.
Selfishness is more efficient. You know what you need and/or want and will work directly to that point.
Selfishness is often ego driven, sometimes counterproductive and lacking in a greater vision of the future.

Unselfishness, can sometimes be pointlessly self sacrificing. It does often look and respond to that which is outside itself, therefore it is open to some larger vision, perhaps limited to one's own immediate family or expansively including a vision for humanity at large.

My thought is intelligence is what you want to aim for.
Take a vision as far away and perfect as you can and let that be your guiding direction. Then you will have to make individual decisions on that [infinite?] road as you see fit.

I think the one you have to answer to is yourself?
Did you do all in your power to be the best you could?
Did you use your mind in that effort?
.

anxiety are you being sarcastic if so look it up instead of using what i have said as being all you need to know.

I only wanted to make a destiction between myself and a plant.
I do have a body with urges to reproduce, and nature has made this a very pleasurable activity. But we just don't know enough about the human genome to say we have a gene for this. Until we can nail it down, alter that gene and study the result, it is only conjecture.

As a thinking and hopefully eternal being, I hope we rise above the encoding in the vessel we use to experience this realm of existence.

Man the lifeboats!!!!! Women and children first. (for they are the future)
Now the men go down with the ship even though they are stronger and very capable of tossing the women and children out and saving themselves.
Does that scenerio mean the men have the gene to ensure the future of the species by saving the young, and the ones that will bring more young into the world? And yet, the seed of life is lost to the deep.

Saving the weak and infirm seems to be counter to survival but as a species we invest considerable resourses to that activity.

So I guess the only point I really ever had was, we are more than a strand of DNA.

So I guess the only point I really ever had was, we are more than a strand of DNA.

Yes i agree with you but our genes constantly affect our decisions and actions and i know that people can overcome these impulses. Think of it these way

Saving the weak and infirm seems to be counter to survival but as a species we invest considerable resourses to that activity

interesting I like the way your present this.

could people be modified without a particular bunch of genes? I have heard of monkeys without the engema (the thing that causes fear) and they seemed more confident but more reckless. I hope in the future that scientiests will do research.

my conclusion is that further research is needed in this subject by myself as I am unclear of the majority of influences of the genes.

There's a difference in the way YOU use "selfish" and the genetic term, "selfish."

In human behavior, it's a negative BEHAVIOR trait and actually one that works against survival. Selfish hominids might gain a temporary advantage (hogging resources) but are more likely to be killed or abandoned to starve if things get tough.

In GENETICS, it's the tendency of the organism to do things that promote its survival. So, in the genetic sense, being altruistic (the BEHAVIOR of unselfishness) is actually the result of a selfish genetic urge.

Originally posted by healthyhitter
Yes i agree with you but our genes constantly affect our decisions and actions and i know that people can overcome these impulses. Think of it these way

So we also have dormant cancer genes, some aren't, does this mean that we are believed to be someone who is out to self destruct? or commit suicide? After all our genes are controlling us, isn't that what they guy is saying?

Originally posted by healthyhitter
Yes i agree with you but our genes constantly affect our decisions and actions and i know that people can overcome these impulses. Think of it these way

So we also have dormant cancer genes, some aren't, does this mean that we are believed to be someone who is out to self destruct? or commit suicide? After all our genes are controlling us, isn't that what they guy is saying?

Isn't this Selfish Genes business just a theory?