Richard Dawkins

Richard Dawkins is a British evolutionary biologist and author who popularized gene-centered accounts of evolution and became a prominent critic of religion.

Gene-centered view of evolution: An account of evolution that treats changes in gene frequencies as the central explanatory process. Dawkins made this perspective central to his public explanation of natural selection.
The Extended Phenotype: Richard Dawkins's 1982 book arguing that gene effects can extend beyond an organism's body. It develops his evolutionary framework beyond the organism as the usual boundary.
W. D. Hamilton: A British evolutionary biologist who developed influential theories of kin selection and inclusive fitness. Hamilton's theories helped shape the gene-centered ideas Dawkins later popularized.
Memetics: The study of cultural transmission using the meme as a proposed unit of replication. Dawkins's coinage inspired attempts to explain how ideas spread and change.
Organism-centered selection: An evolutionary explanation that emphasizes differential survival and reproduction among whole organisms. It describes selection at the level often contrasted with Dawkins's gene-centered framing.
Natural selection: The process by which heritable differences lead organisms to reproduce at different rates. Dawkins explains gene-centered evolution through this broader evolutionary mechanism.
The Blind Watchmaker: Richard Dawkins's 1986 book explaining how natural selection can produce apparent design without foresight. It applies evolutionary reasoning to rebut arguments that biological complexity requires a designer.
John Maynard Smith: A British evolutionary biologist who applied mathematical models and game theory to evolution. His work helped establish the theoretical context for gene-level accounts of evolution.
Selfish gene theory: An evolutionary perspective that treats genes as replicators whose effects help explain organismal traits. Dawkins gave this perspective its influential popular formulation.
Multilevel selection theory: An evolutionary framework allowing natural selection to operate at multiple biological levels, including groups. Its emphasis on selection among groups challenges some gene-centered interpretations.

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