Richard Dawkins
British evolutionary biologist and atheist polemicist whose The Selfish Gene revolutionized how evolution is understood by proposing that genes, not organisms, are the unit of selection. The God Delusion became the bestselling anti-religious polemic of the 21st century. He coined the word 'meme.'
Works
- The Selfish GeneArgues that genes are the unit of natural selection, not individual organisms
- The Blind WatchmakerExplains how complexity can arise from natural selection without conscious design
- The God DelusionArgues that belief in God is scientifically indefensible delusion
- Climbing Mount ImprobableIllustrates how complex evolutionary adaptations are built gradually
- Unweaving the RainbowDefends science against postmodern skepticism and celebrates rational knowledge
- The Extended PhenotypeExtends gene-centered view of evolution to organisms' effects on environment