We are survival machines – robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes.Richard Dawkins
The gene is the basic unit of selfishness.Richard Dawkins
A survival machine is a vehicle containing not just one gene but many thousands.Richard Dawkins
The ultimate aim of all life is the survival of the genes.Richard Dawkins
Evolution has no long-term goal. There is no long-distance target, no final perfection to serve as a criterion for selection.Richard Dawkins
Cultural transmission is analogous to genetic transmission in that, although basically conservative, it can give rise to a form of evolution.Richard Dawkins
Individuality is a very important subject. Something we owe to monozygotic twins is that they confound our deep-seated belief that each person is unique.Richard Dawkins
Genes do indirectly control the manufacture of bodies, and the influence is strictly one way: acquired characteristics are not inherited.Richard Dawkins
Imperfections and apparent absurdities, far from undermining the theory of evolution, are exactly what we should expect if evolution is true.Richard Dawkins
The meme for blind faith secures its own perpetuation by the simple unconscious expedient of discouraging rational inquiry.Richard Dawkins