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Genes do indeed behave as if they have selfish goals, not consciously, but retrospectively: genes that behave in this way thrive and genes that don’t don’t.

— Matt Ridley Genome (1999)

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More quotes by Matt Ridley

When a neo-Darwinian asks, “Why?” he is really asking “How did this come about?” He is a historian.

The Red Queen (1993)

Just as human nature is the same everywhere, so it is recognizably the same as it was in the past.

The Red Queen (1993)

A gene is by definition the descendant of a gene that was good at getting into future generations.

The Red Queen (1993)

And even where I am wrong about human nature, I am not wrong that there is such a nature to be sought.

The Red Queen (1993)

Monogamy, enforced by law, religion, or sanction, does seem to reduce murderous competition between men.

The Red Queen (1993)

All Matt Ridley quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Matt Ridley (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.