[The Selfish Gene](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Selfish_Gene) underplays the human capacity for co-operation, and now seems too hard on theories that posit [multi-level selection](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_selection#Multilevel_selection_theory). But the following line remains true, and unforgettable: > We are survival machines—robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes. I was sitting on the patio in my parents garden when I read this for the first time. It was one of my early viewquakes. If I were to rework this, I’d cut the word “selfish”, and emphasise the physical aspect of the process: > We are survival machines—robot vehicles blindly programmed by the forces of nature to preserve the self-replicating molecules known as genes. Where to start: * [The Selfish Gene](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Selfish_Gene) <!-- #web/people --> <!-- {BearID:Richard Dawkins.md} -->