People commonly view evolution as a process of competition between individuals—known as “survival of the fittest”—with the individual representing ...
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Dec 17, 2009
Krishan
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The book is a logical continuation of his devastating book The Selfish Gene. Here Dawkins turns his critical eye and razor sharp words to evolutionary views that take the individual organism as the definitive playing field for natural selection to operate.
Using the gene's eye view of life that he developed so well in The Selfish Gene, he shows that animal artifacts are better understood as objects engineered by natural selection, rather than as by products of the behavior of organism More...
Using the gene's eye view of life that he developed so well in The Selfish Gene, he shows that animal artifacts are better understood as objects engineered by natural selection, rather than as by products of the behavior of organism More...
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Mar 13, 2011
The essentials of life's story: Biodiversity is more than a buzzword for ecologists. Variation gives life its grandeur, and Richard Dawkins gives us a description of the workings of variation. Fortunately, with a sharp mind and sharper wit, he has the ability to deliver this portrayal so that nearly everyone can understand it. That's not to say this book is an easy read. Although he delivers his narration as if sitting with you in a quiet study, you may still need to review his words more than o
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Apr 30, 2011
Katja
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An extra read for those who liked "The Selfish Gene". This one was written for biologists but the glossary in the end of the book and Dawkins' illuminating prose make it easy to follow. The first chapters are aimed at precluding any possible misunderstandings of what Dawkins meant in "The Selfish Gene". The last four chapters explain the long-reach-of-the-gene idea and argue that the phenotypical effects are not limited to one organism. With a multitude of examples Dawkins de
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Apr 08, 2010
Broodingferret
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Well, that took a while. This book is not for everyone. Dawkins himself says in the Introduction that this book is intended for professional biologists and not laymen, and it is no understatement. Halfway through the book I had to stop and take a break, during which I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?<i/>, a trashy queer beach-read and two graphic novels.
This book is absolutely fascinating, though it requires quite a bit of rigor to com More...
This book is absolutely fascinating, though it requires quite a bit of rigor to com More...
Oct 08, 2008
Nicholas
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Aug 03, 2008
Nicolai
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you stand in the midst of uncountable interlocking fields of replicator power!!!
an extended phenotypic character i teh product of teh intereaction of many genes whose influence impinges from both inside and outside the organism.
this book follows on logically from the selfish gene and takes the genes eye view all the way outward from the gene to its ultimate effects.
genes exert quatitative, mutually interactive, mutually modifying, effects on a shared pheno More...
an extended phenotypic character i teh product of teh intereaction of many genes whose influence impinges from both inside and outside the organism.
this book follows on logically from the selfish gene and takes the genes eye view all the way outward from the gene to its ultimate effects.
genes exert quatitative, mutually interactive, mutually modifying, effects on a shared pheno More...
Aug 17, 2007
Felis
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A sequel of his other book, “Selfish Gene”, “The Extended Phenotype” however, is written down not for layman, but for professional biologist. Thus, it’s harder for me, who don’t have enough background in biology (or philosophy, as the book deals a lot with it), to follow the idea.
Basically, Dawkins wanted to clear out some misunderstanding conclusion from his first book “Selfish Gene” that he believe many people had after reading it. He wanted to stress that his opinion was not the s More...
Basically, Dawkins wanted to clear out some misunderstanding conclusion from his first book “Selfish Gene” that he believe many people had after reading it. He wanted to stress that his opinion was not the s More...
May 12, 2010
Amanda
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It was very interesting to read an earlier work by Richard Dawkins, especially one aimed at a scientific audience. He presents some fascinating ideas regarding the approach we take to quantifying evolution, and The Extended Phenotype is certainly a necessary piece of reading for anyone working in a related field. The first half of the book seemed bloated, however; he could have made all the necessary points in just one or two chapters, and I found the sheer length of reading before getting to th
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Feb 15, 2010
Grouchymax
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Dawkins will always sparkle and charm me, even despite his unbelievable refusal to admit the adaptive nature of faith (in god, in whatever 'helps' a group of people cohere). This book, however, has become less impressive the more I understand genetics. I wish this book had been co-written with a geneticist, but absent that, the greater point still holds: just as the individual genes cannot be assessed without considering their host bodies, we cannot assess them without consideration of their aff
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Jan 28, 2009
Ming
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Very detailed, and perhaps most of all scientific, analysis of how the little things in life... literally, are the ones that drive change--at least biologically. Things can get pretty technical and minute, and perhaps overly defensive with all the rebuttals of other authors that sure makes it tempting to just skip a few paragraphs or even pages just to get to the summary of the idea he's trying to get across... the ideas are grand but the delivery a bit too verbose--
Jul 29, 2011
Jim
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Not as approachable as "The Selfish Gene," but it's a very strong follow-up for people who want more and who are willing to do a little work... Because of the rigor and the slightly different tilt of the book, there are many broader implications revealed through this treatment that weren't evident to me from "The Selfish Gene." As a non-biologist, the discussions frequently pushed me to their implications in the non-genetic meme-scape.
Apr 30, 2009
Becky
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I was pretty proud of myself for getting through this one. Not because it's boring - Dawkins is never boring! - but I'm definitely a layperson and this one is far more technical than the others I'd read. But I'm glad I stuck with it, because it gives more depth and perspective on the ideas in the more populist books.
May 26, 2011
Genetic Cuckoo
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A wonderufl book for anyone interested in biology or genetics. It talks about how natural selection can be altered and produce very shocking results. It explains how the peacock got it's tail and the interesting train of between being desirable as a mate and being able to survive. It's a facinating book.
Dec 16, 2009
Andy
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The follow-up to the brilliant work The Selfish Gene. Only the last few chapters actually focus directly on the extended phenotype concept, which was disappointing to me, as I thought it was one of Dawkins's more intriguing ideas introduced in this book's precursor. Those chapters are indeed the best and most interesting; much of the rest is spent defending the selfish gene concept from criticisms and making small but not especially revelatory touch-ups on the basic theory. It's still very good
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Aug 24, 2009
Daniel
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So Dr. MacKinnon said she would be bit skeptical about how reductionistic this approach is (note for James). But otherwise its an interesting read and pretty stimulating.
May 30, 2010
Cheryl in CC NV
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Couldn't quite make it through this one either - I just don't have the training and curiosity isn't enough for non-geniuses like me.
Aug 11, 2011
Sami
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Recommended for anybody interested in the evolution of "weird" animal behaviour, or generally evolution.
Apr 18, 2010
Mike
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Wonderful follow on to The Selfish Gene. Changes completely how one views life (at the mechanical level). Highly recommended.
Oct 01, 2011
Molly
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This is the one to read. Anyone who wants to say anything about Dawkins should read this first.
Jan 01, 2009
The Extended Phenotype : The Gene As the Unit of Selection by Richard Dawkins (1984)
Nov 01, 2007
Chessie
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I've only just started but it's a fantastic continuation after reading Ancestor's Tale and the Selfish Gene. The language is very easy to follow through with Dawkins usual style of writing. I do recommend that before you read it to have already read the Selfish Gene and have some general knowledge on the subject. So far it addresses the relationship between environment and genes and how they affect each other as they evolve. First few chapters address some critics of Selfish Gene but they ar
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Oct 20, 2008
Rowland
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Was looking forward to reading this book after having read "The Selfish Gene".
The idea of the extended phenotype is truly revolutionary but the problem I had with this book was that it requires you to be a geneticist (or at least have a degree in biology).
The writing was very technical with alot of concepts and terms that just went over my head. Having read the selfish gene, I thought it would be at that level (although that book is technical too) but this loo More...
The idea of the extended phenotype is truly revolutionary but the problem I had with this book was that it requires you to be a geneticist (or at least have a degree in biology).
The writing was very technical with alot of concepts and terms that just went over my head. Having read the selfish gene, I thought it would be at that level (although that book is technical too) but this loo More...
Sep 07, 2008
Dudleysmith
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Harder and denser than any of his other books, but commensurately more rewarding. The training wheels have definitely come off with this one. There is more liberal use of the field's technical jargon (there is a glossary in the back, but they are not defined in the text), and not much pandering to a non-technical audience (of which I am a part). If I hadn't read several others of his books I'd have had no chance at all.
Jun 25, 2010
Tom
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The toughest and most dense Dawkins I've read, but I suppose it is meant for biologists and not the casual reader. Dawkins' basic theory is blindingly simple and obvious, but can't have been at the time, as he spends about 13 chapters explaining it. If you can get past the discussion of haplidiploids and cistrons then this is a rewarding read...
Mar 24, 2011
Radu
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When your biology knowledge comes from vague memories from high-school you're in a bit of trouble. That said I knew from the beginning that this book was addressed mainly to biologists, so I'm not going to blame Dawkins. It was still an interesting read, especially when I decided I'd read only this book until I finish it.
Dec 14, 2010
Stephen
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While an unnecessarily large section of the book is dedicated to rebutting criticisms of The Selfish Gene, it is still a very good introduction to a (at the time) new way of thinking about the reach of genes beyond the organism.
