--- title: "10 Selfish Genes Quotes by 3 authors" description: "Browse 10 Selfish Genes quotes by 3 authors. Discover the best Selfish Genes sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/203/richard-dawkins-115_birth_we-have-the-power-to-defy-the-selfish-ge_2266270.jpg" --- > [“We have the power to defy the selfish genes of our birth and, if necessary, the selfish memes of our indoctrination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-the-power-to-defy-the-selfish-genes-of-our-birth-and-if-2/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/203/richard-dawkins-115_birth_we-have-the-power-to-defy-the-selfish-ge_2266270.jpg) > [Selfish genes actually explain altruistic individuals, and to me that's crystal-clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/selfish-genes-actually-explain-altruistic-individuals-and-to-me-that/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/richard-dawkins-115_actually_selfish-genes-actually-explain-altruisti_2726214.jpg) > [Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-genes-are-up-to-because-we-may/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ede/richard-dawkins-115_because_let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-g_17966.jpg) > [“even with selfish genes at the helm, nice guys can finish first.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/even-with-selfish-genes-at-the-helm-nice-guys-can-finish-first/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/richard-dawkins-115_nice-guys_even-with-selfish-genes-at-the-helm-nice_652731.jpg) > [Our minds have been built by selfish genes, but they have been built to be social, trustworthy and cooperative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-ridley/our-minds-have-been-built-by-selfish-genes-but-they-have-been-built/) [Matt Ridley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-ridley/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/matt-ridley-8082_built_our-minds-have-been-built-by-selfish-gen_2586011.png) > [What you cannot have is a gene that sacrifices itself for the benefit of other genes. What you can have is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-you-cannot-have-is-a-gene-that-sacrifices-itself-for-the-benefit/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/richard-dawkins-115_benefits_what-you-cannot-have-is-a-gene-that-sacr_3050911.jpg) > [“We have the power to defy the selfish genes of our birth and, if necessary, the selfish memes of our indoctrination. .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-the-power-to-defy-the-selfish-genes-of-our-birth-and-if-3/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/richard-dawkins-115_selfishness_we-have-the-power-to-defy-the-selfish-ge_2733520.jpg) > [Let us try to teach generosity and altruism, because we are born selfish. Let us understand what our own selfish genes are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-try-to-teach-generosity-and-altruism-because-we-are-born-2/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6db/richard-dawkins-115_altruism_let-us-try-to-teach-generosity-and-altru_2221696.jpg) > [We have the power to defy the selfish genes of our birth and, if necessary, the selfish memes of our indoctrination. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-the-power-to-defy-the-selfish-genes-of-our-birth-and-if/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/028/richard-dawkins-115_altruism_we-have-the-power-to-defy-the-selfish-ge_1251845.jpg) > [Just as blueprints don't necessarily specify blue buildings, selfish genes don't necessarily specify selfish organisms. As we shall see, sometimes the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/just-as-blueprints-don-t-necessarily-specify-blue-buildings-selfish/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/steven-pinker-526_biology_just-as-blueprints-don-t-necessarily-spe_2180861.jpg) ## Top authors on Selfish Genes - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b020/author-richard-dawkins-78503.jpg) Richard Dawkins 8 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-genes/richard-dawkins/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-genes/#itemlist", "name": "Selfish Genes Quotes", "numberOfItems": 10, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We have the power to defy the selfish genes of our birth and, if necessary, the selfish memes of our 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"text": "Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Dawkins" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-genes-are-up-to-because-we-may/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ede/richard-dawkins-115_because_let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-g_17966.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ede/richard-dawkins-115_because_let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-g_17966.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ede/richard-dawkins-115_because_let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-g_17966.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset…” — Richard Dawkins", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": 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"https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our minds have been built by selfish genes, but they have been built to be social, trustworthy and cooperative.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matt Ridley" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-ridley/our-minds-have-been-built-by-selfish-genes-but-they-have-been-built/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/matt-ridley-8082_built_our-minds-have-been-built-by-selfish-gen_2586011.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/matt-ridley-8082_built_our-minds-have-been-built-by-selfish-gen_2586011.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aed/matt-ridley-8082_built_our-minds-have-been-built-by-selfish-gen_2586011.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our minds have been built by selfish genes, but they have been built to be social, trustworthy and…” — Matt Ridley", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What you cannot have is a gene that sacrifices itself for the benefit of other genes. What you can have is a gene that makes organisms sacrifice themselves for other organisms under the influence of selfish genes.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Dawkins" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-you-cannot-have-is-a-gene-that-sacrifices-itself-for-the-benefit/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/richard-dawkins-115_benefits_what-you-cannot-have-is-a-gene-that-sacr_3050911.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/richard-dawkins-115_benefits_what-you-cannot-have-is-a-gene-that-sacr_3050911.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f7/richard-dawkins-115_benefits_what-you-cannot-have-is-a-gene-that-sacr_3050911.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What you cannot have is a gene that sacrifices itself for the benefit of other genes. What you can have is a…” — Richard Dawkins", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We have the power to defy the selfish genes of our birth and, if necessary, the selfish memes of our indoctrination. . . . We, alone on earth, can rebel against the tyranny of the selfish replicators.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Dawkins" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-the-power-to-defy-the-selfish-genes-of-our-birth-and-if-3/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/richard-dawkins-115_selfishness_we-have-the-power-to-defy-the-selfish-ge_2733520.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/richard-dawkins-115_selfishness_we-have-the-power-to-defy-the-selfish-ge_2733520.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68e/richard-dawkins-115_selfishness_we-have-the-power-to-defy-the-selfish-ge_2733520.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have the power to defy the selfish genes of our birth and, if necessary, the selfish memes of our…” — Richard Dawkins", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Let us try to teach generosity and altruism, because we are born selfish. Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to, because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs, something that no other species has ever aspired to do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Dawkins" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-try-to-teach-generosity-and-altruism-because-we-are-born-2/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6db/richard-dawkins-115_altruism_let-us-try-to-teach-generosity-and-altru_2221696.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6db/richard-dawkins-115_altruism_let-us-try-to-teach-generosity-and-altru_2221696.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6db/richard-dawkins-115_altruism_let-us-try-to-teach-generosity-and-altru_2221696.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Let us try to teach generosity and altruism, because we are born selfish. Let us understand what our own…” — Richard Dawkins", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We have the power to defy the selfish genes of our birth and, if necessary, the selfish memes of our indoctrination. We can even discuss ways of deliberately cultivating and nurturing pure, disinterested altruism - something that has no place in nature, something that has never existed before in the whole history of the world. We are built as gene machines and cultured as meme machines, but we have the power to turn against our creators. We, alone on earth, can rebel against the tyranny of the selfish replicators.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Dawkins" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-the-power-to-defy-the-selfish-genes-of-our-birth-and-if/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/028/richard-dawkins-115_altruism_we-have-the-power-to-defy-the-selfish-ge_1251845.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/028/richard-dawkins-115_altruism_we-have-the-power-to-defy-the-selfish-ge_1251845.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/028/richard-dawkins-115_altruism_we-have-the-power-to-defy-the-selfish-ge_1251845.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We have the power to defy the selfish genes of our birth and, if necessary, the selfish memes of our…” — Richard Dawkins", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Just as blueprints don't necessarily specify blue buildings, selfish genes don't necessarily specify selfish organisms. As we shall see, sometimes the most selfish thing a gene can do is build a selfless brain. Genes are a play within a play, not the interior monologue of the players.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Pinker" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/just-as-blueprints-don-t-necessarily-specify-blue-buildings-selfish/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/steven-pinker-526_biology_just-as-blueprints-don-t-necessarily-spe_2180861.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/steven-pinker-526_biology_just-as-blueprints-don-t-necessarily-spe_2180861.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/036/steven-pinker-526_biology_just-as-blueprints-don-t-necessarily-spe_2180861.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Just as blueprints don't necessarily specify blue buildings, selfish genes don't necessarily specify selfish…” — Steven Pinker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-genes/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-genes/", "name": "Selfish Genes Quotes", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-genes/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/203/richard-dawkins-115_birth_we-have-the-power-to-defy-the-selfish-ge_2266270.jpg" }, "description": "Browse 10 Selfish Genes quotes by 3 authors. 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