--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: even with selfish genes at the helm, nice…" description: "\"“even with selfish genes at the helm, nice guys can finish first.”\" — Richard Dawkins" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/richard-dawkins-115_nice-guys_even-with-selfish-genes-at-the-helm-nice_652731.jpg" --- # even with selfish genes at the helm, nice guys can finish… ![“even with selfish genes at the helm, nice guys can finish first.” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/richard-dawkins-115_nice-guys_even-with-selfish-genes-at-the-helm-nice_652731.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/richard-dawkins-115_nice-guys_even-with-selfish-genes-at-the-helm-nice_652731.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/richard-dawkins-115_nice-guys_even-with-selfish-genes-at-the-helm-nice_652731.jpg) > ““even with selfish genes at the helm, nice guys can finish first.”” [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even with self‑interested genetics, altruistic behavior can lead to success. **In simple terms:** Selfish genes can still produce nice outcomes. Key Takeaway Encourage cooperation despite competition. Themes evolution altruism competition Mood thoughtful inspirational Type scientific philosophical When to use this quote - team projects - social biology research - education Key Concepts genes self‑interest cooperation Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance self‑interest and kindness? - Can cooperation outweigh competition? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on genetics may ignore cultural factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nice guys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nice-guys/) [Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness/) ## Related quotes > [Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs.](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/) > [Nice guys finish lunch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nice-guys-finish-lunch/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Who said nice guys finish last? Nice guys finish before the race even gets started.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rev-run-2/who-said-nice-guys-finish-last-nice-guys-finish-before-the-race-even/) [Rev Run](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rev-run-2/) > [It is not true that nice guys finish last. Nice guys are winners before the game even starts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-not-true-that-nice-guys-finish-last-nice-guys-are-winners/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nice guys finish last, no fuck who ever made you feel that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mccarty/nice-guys-finish-last-no-fuck-who-ever-made-you-feel-that-way/) [Kevin McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mccarty/) > [Contrary to the cliche', genuinely nice guys most often finish first or very near it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-forbes/contrary-to-the-cliche-genuinely-nice-guys-most-often-finish-first-or/) [Steve Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-forbes/) > [Nice guys finish last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-durocher/nice-guys-finish-last/) [Leo Durocher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-durocher/) > [“Nice guys finish last, but in the race of life who wants to get to the finish line?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-j-wimmer/nice-guys-finish-last-but-in-the-race-of-life-who-wants-to-get-to-the/) Brian J. Wimmer > [Nice guys finish last, but we get to sleep in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-davis/nice-guys-finish-last-but-we-get-to-sleep-in/) [Evan Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-davis/) > [Win any way as long as you can get away with it. Nice guys finish last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-durocher/win-any-way-as-long-as-you-can-get-away-with-it-nice-guys-finish-last/) [Leo Durocher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-durocher/) > [Nice guys finish first. If you don't know that, then you don't know where the finish line is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garry-shandling/nice-guys-finish-first-if-you-don-t-know-that-then-you-don-t-know/) [Garry Shandling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garry-shandling/) > [It is decidedly not true that 'nice guys finish last'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-durocher/it-is-decidedly-not-true-that-nice-guys-finish-last/) [Leo Durocher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-durocher/) > [If nice guys finish last, then great guys come in right after them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-dyer/if-nice-guys-finish-last-then-great-guys-come-in-right-after-them/) [Edward Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-dyer/) > [Basically, nice guys can finish last.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-meriwether/basically-nice-guys-can-finish-last/) Lee Meriwether > [Nice guys do not finish last. Last place is for the cowards and those too full of fear to take action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/nice-guys-do-not-finish-last-last-place-is-for-the-cowards-and-those/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) ## More by Richard Dawkins > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“The fundamentalist Kurt Wise proclaims that all the evidence in the universe would not change his mind. The true scientist, however passionately he may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-fundamentalist-kurt-wise-proclaims-that-all-the-evidence-in-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Religions do make claims about the universe--the same kinds of claims that scientists make, except they're usually false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religions-do-make-claims-about-the-universe-the-same-kinds-of-claims/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird, as you would expect of a chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/much-of-the-bible-is-not-systematically-evil-but-just-plain-weird-as/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The recurrent laryngeal nerve - which runs from the head to the voice box - goes all the way down into the chest, loops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-recurrent-laryngeal-nerve-which-runs-from-the-head-to-the-voice/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The Roman Catholic Church is an institution for whose gains the phrase "ill-gotten" might have been specially invented. And of all its money-making rip-offs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-roman-catholic-church-is-an-institution-for-whose-gains-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs.](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/) > [What's going to happen when I die? I may be buried, or I may be cremated, I may give my body to science. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-s-going-to-happen-when-i-die-i-may-be-buried-or-i-may-be/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Or why it is acceptable to train fast runners and high jumpers but not to breed them. I can think of some answers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/or-why-it-is-acceptable-to-train-fast-runners-and-high-jumpers-but/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We have seen that living things are too improbable and too beautifully 'designed' to have come into existence by chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-seen-that-living-things-are-too-improbable-and-too/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“We will not go quietly away. If in the future that requires violence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-will-not-go-quietly-away-if-in-the-future-that-requires-violence/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [It's a truly disgusting idea that the creator of the universe - capable of inventing the laws of physics and designing the evolutionary process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-a-truly-disgusting-idea-that-the-creator-of-the-universe-capable/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Explore all 1,239 Richard Dawkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## More Nice guys quotes > [I like the bad-boy types. Generally the guy I'm attracted to is the guy in the club with all the tattoos and nail polish.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/i-like-the-bad-boy-types-generally-the-guy-i-m-attracted-to-is-the/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [I like the nice guys. I like when they show the stories, the human element behind it all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-bassett/i-like-the-nice-guys-i-like-when-they-show-the-stories-the-human/) [Angela Bassett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-bassett/) > [.this is exactly how Nice Guys operate, treating all encounters with women as a form of speed dating and then getting annoyed when its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie/this-is-exactly-how-nice-guys-operate-treating-all-encounters-with/) [Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie/) > [Some girls do like dating nice guys. Multiple nice guys at once, with a bad boy on the side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-girls-do-like-dating-nice-guys-multiple-nice-guys-at-once-with-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Mitt Romney is a nice guy. But, we know where nice guys finish in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/mitt-romney-is-a-nice-guy-but-we-know-where-nice-guys-finish-in/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [If Romney would go ideological in explaining Obama, it would help. We gotta stop the, 'He's a nice guy' stuff. Nice guys don't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/if-romney-would-go-ideological-in-explaining-obama-it-would-help-we/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“Girls are always complaining that they can never meet a nice guy. Nice guys are everywhere. The problem isn’t that there aren't any nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-bryant/girls-are-always-complaining-that-they-can-never-meet-a-nice-guy-nice/) [Carroll Bryant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-bryant/) > [It is decidedly not true that "nice guys finish last," as that highly original American baseball philosopher, Leo Durocher, was alleged to have said.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/it-is-decidedly-not-true-that-nice-guys-finish-last-as-that-highly/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Young girls look at nice guys as something they'll put on their to-do list once they're fat, unattractive and have to many kids that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/young-girls-look-at-nice-guys-as-something-they-ll-put-on-their-to-do/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A lot of attractive women cant be too nice because guys take that kindness the wrong way and wont leave you alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-lot-of-attractive-women-cant-be-too-nice-because-guys-take-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If youre a nice guy to a girl up until you realize she doesnt want to date you, then go on about how shes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-youre-a-nice-guy-to-a-girl-up-until-you-realize-she-doesnt-want-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fortunately, our audiences are used to a kind of boredom in the theatre, and if the writer is skillful, he will flatter them into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/fortunately-our-audiences-are-used-to-a-kind-of-boredom-in-the/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I do play nice guys. I really do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-fichtner/i-do-play-nice-guys-i-really-do/) [William Fichtner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-fichtner/) > [There's too much money and too many nice guys around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcenroe/there-s-too-much-money-and-too-many-nice-guys-around/) [John McEnroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcenroe/) > [“I'm not mad at you," she said. "Not even a little?" "No." "Do you still love me?" It didn't seem like the perfect time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/i-m-not-mad-at-you-she-said-not-even-a-little-no-do-you-still-love-me/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) [Browse all 119 Nice guys quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nice-guys/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“even with selfish genes at the helm, nice guys can finish first.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Dawkins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/even-with-selfish-genes-at-the-helm-nice-guys-can-finish-first/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Nice guys" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/even-with-selfish-genes-at-the-helm-nice-guys-can-finish-first/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/richard-dawkins-115_nice-guys_even-with-selfish-genes-at-the-helm-nice_652731.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/richard-dawkins-115_nice-guys_even-with-selfish-genes-at-the-helm-nice_652731.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f1/richard-dawkins-115_nice-guys_even-with-selfish-genes-at-the-helm-nice_652731.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“even with selfish genes at the helm, nice guys can finish first.” — Richard Dawkins", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Richard Dawkins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“even with selfish genes at the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/even-with-selfish-genes-at-the-helm-nice-guys-can-finish-first/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/even-with-selfish-genes-at-the-helm-nice-guys-can-finish-first/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```