ABSTRACT
In writing The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins set out to produce a book that was both scientifically relevant and accessible to the general reader. Alan Grafen, Professor of Theoretical Biology at Oxford University, believed The Selfish Gene's enduring contribution was in the power of its interpretation of evolution. He admired the way Dawkins had taken recent works by adaptationists, such as William D. Hamilton on inclusive fitness, and had "establish[ed] their unity under Darwinism by interpreting them all in the logical framework of replicators." Dawkins did no original research for The Selfish Gene and had no intention of breaking new ground in terms of facts. He was looking instead to popularize the ideas he was developing and to extend the work of fellow kin selection theorists. Dawkins also introduced the idea of memes, which he described as cultural themes and ideas that were "capable of being transmitted from one brain to another."
