The Selfish Gene: 40th Anniversary edition (Oxford Landmark Science) — Introduction to 30th Anniversary Edition

1. 1. Dawkins explains that the title 'The Selfish Gene' should be emphasized on 'gene', not 'selfish', as the book focuses on the unit of natural selection.
2. 2. Dawkins admits the sentence 'Let us try to teach generosity and altruism because we are born selfish' is misleading and should be deleted.
3. 3. Dawkins suggests alternative titles like 'The Immortal Gene' or 'The Cooperative Gene' to avoid misunderstandings.
4. 4. Dawkins distinguishes between two levels of personification: of genes and of organisms, both useful for understanding Darwinian calculations.
5. 5. Dawkins responds to critics who claim the book promotes selfishness, stating that humans can rebel against our selfish genes, as shown by contraception.
6. 6. Dawkins discusses ultra-selfish genes like meiotic drive genes and parasitic DNA, which work against the rest of the genome.
7. 7. Dawkins notes that the 40th anniversary edition restores Robert Trivers' original foreword, which introduced the theory of self-deception.