--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't actually think 'The Selfish Gene'…" description: "\"I don't actually think 'The Selfish Gene' is a very good title. I think that's one of my worst titles.\" — Richard Dawkins" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/richard-dawkins-115_actually_i-don-t-actually-think-the-selfish-gene_233703.jpg" --- # I don't actually think 'The Selfish Gene' is a very good… ![“I don't actually think 'The Selfish Gene' is a very good title. I think that's one of my worst titles.” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/richard-dawkins-115_actually_i-don-t-actually-think-the-selfish-gene_233703.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/richard-dawkins-115_actually_i-don-t-actually-think-the-selfish-gene_233703.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/richard-dawkins-115_actually_i-don-t-actually-think-the-selfish-gene_233703.jpg) > “I don't actually think 'The Selfish Gene' is a very good title. I think that's one of my worst titles.” [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. Criticizes his own book title as poor, reflecting self‑critique. **In simple terms:** He dislikes the title “The Selfish Gene.” Key Takeaway Consider titles that accurately reflect content. Themes self‑critique communication branding science Mood reflective critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - publishing - marketing - academic outreach - public talks Key Concepts naming public perception authorial doubt Questions to Reflect On - How important is a title for a book’s impact? - What alternative titles could work better? A Different Perspective A title may still succeed despite author’s dislike. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gene/) [Selfish gene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-gene/) [Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness/) ## Related quotes > [I think we all have a selfish gene which rises to the top, sometimes. But then we're also all capable of a sudden magnanimity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-broadbent/i-think-we-all-have-a-selfish-gene-which-rises-to-the-top-sometimes/) [Jim Broadbent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-broadbent/) > [It's good to have a title that's not just one word. If you're gonna title it, you might as well try and say something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-hirst/it-s-good-to-have-a-title-that-s-not-just-one-word-if-you-re-gonna/) [Damien Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-hirst/) > [A good title is a work of a genius!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-haldeman-julius/a-good-title-is-a-work-of-a-genius/) [E. Haldeman-Julius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-haldeman-julius/) > [All writers know how important a good title is. It's the first thing readers see, along with a knock-your-socks-off cover - a seductive 'come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/all-writers-know-how-important-a-good-title-is-it-s-the-first-thing/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [Science is a victim of its own reductive metaphors: 'Big Bang,' 'selfish gene' and so on. Richard Dawkins' selfish gene fitted with the Thatcherite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-jencks/science-is-a-victim-of-its-own-reductive-metaphors-big-bang-selfish/) [Charles Jencks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-jencks/) > [“Many people think that the theory of the selfish gene says that “animals try to spread their genes.” That misstates the facts and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/many-people-think-that-the-theory-of-the-selfish-gene-says-that/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [I have no explanation for complex biological design. All I know is that God isn't a good explanation, so we must wait and hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-no-explanation-for-complex-biological-design-all-i-know-is/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We have the power to defy the selfish genes of our birth and, if necessary, the selfish memes of our indoctrination. We can even…](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/) > [Faith is powerful enough to immunize people against all appeals to pity, to forgiveness, to decent human feelings. It even immunizes them against fear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/faith-is-powerful-enough-to-immunize-people-against-all-appeals-to/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [They are in you and me; they created us, body and mind; and their preservation is the ultimate rationale for our existence. They have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/they-are-in-you-and-me-they-created-us-body-and-mind-and-their/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Leaders who forbid their followers to use effective contraceptive methods express a preference for "natural" methods of population limitation, and a natural method is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/leaders-who-forbid-their-followers-to-use-effective-contraceptive/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Natural selection, the blind, unconscious, automatic process which Darwin discovered, and which we now know is the explanation forthe existence and apparently purposeful form…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/natural-selection-the-blind-unconscious-automatic-process-which/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Mutation is random; natural selection is the very opposite of random.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/mutation-is-random-natural-selection-is-the-very-opposite-of-random/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We are built as gene machines and cultured as meme machines, but we have the power to turn against our creators. We, alone on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-are-built-as-gene-machines-and-cultured-as-meme-machines-but-we/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [ “A foreign publisher of my first book \[ The Selfish Gene \] confessed that he could not sleep for three nights after reading it,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/a-foreign-publisher-of-my-first-book-the-selfish-gene-confessed-that/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## 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 Actually quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. 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You can't actually explain my political life except by a series of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lange/you-have-to-talk-about-why-things-happened-the-way-they-did-you-can-t/) [David Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lange/) > [Failure actually makes you strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neha-sharma/failure-actually-makes-you-strong/) [Neha Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neha-sharma/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [I'm from Europe, England, and I actually lived in Italy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/i-m-from-europe-england-and-i-actually-lived-in-italy/) [Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/) > [The alternative comedy scene is actually pretty small, I guess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-wilson/the-alternative-comedy-scene-is-actually-pretty-small-i-guess/) [Casey Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-wilson/) > [I was a very good student. Procrastinating gives me anxiety, and getting a B really ticked me off. Sure, I didn't always want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-loren/i-was-a-very-good-student-procrastinating-gives-me-anxiety-and/) [Josie Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-loren/) > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [Somebody said that part of my reaction to British cinema is actually, paradoxically, a patriotic one. 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