--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whenever conditions arise in which a new…" description: "\"Whenever conditions arise in which a new kind of replicator can make copies of itself, the new replicators will tend to take over, and start a new kind..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8b/richard-dawkins-115_arise_whenever-conditions-arise-in-which-a-new_2170485.jpg" --- # Whenever conditions arise in which a new kind of… ![“Whenever conditions arise in which a new kind of replicator can make copies of itself, the new replicators will tend to take over, and start a new kind of evolution of their own. Once this new evolution begins, it will in no necessary sense be subservient to the old.” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8b/richard-dawkins-115_arise_whenever-conditions-arise-in-which-a-new_2170485.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8b/richard-dawkins-115_arise_whenever-conditions-arise-in-which-a-new_2170485.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e8b/richard-dawkins-115_arise_whenever-conditions-arise-in-which-a-new_2170485.jpg) > “Whenever conditions arise in which a new kind of replicator can make copies of itself, the new replicators will tend to take over, and start a new kind of evolution of their own. Once this new evolution begins, it will in no necessary sense be subservient to the old.” [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. Self‑replicating entities evolve independently, creating new evolutionary pathways beyond human control. **In simple terms:** Replicators drive new evolution. Key Takeaway Monitor emerging technologies. Themes technology evolution bioethics Mood cautious forward‑looking Type scientific ethical When to use this quote - biotech - AI development - environmental policy - industrial automation Key Concepts systems theory complexity Questions to Reflect On - How can we regulate self‑replicating tech? - What safeguards are needed? A Different Perspective Uncontrolled replication may cause ecological disruption. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [Selfish gene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfish-gene/) ## Related quotes > [“For more than three thousand million years, DNA has been the only replicator worth talking about in the world. But it does not necessarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/for-more-than-three-thousand-million-years-dna-has-been-the-only/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [I think that a new kind of replicator has recently emerged on this very planet. It is staring us in the face. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-think-that-a-new-kind-of-replicator-has-recently-emerged-on-this/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [No matter how numerous they may be, mutations do not produce any kind of evolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-paul-grasse/no-matter-how-numerous-they-may-be-mutations-do-not-produce-any-kind/) [Pierre-Paul Grasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-paul-grasse/) > [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/) > [I've always been antagonistic to any naïve application of the selfish gene theory to politics. Some people have attempted to suggest that it means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-ve-always-been-antagonistic-to-any-na-ve-application-of-the-selfish/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The God of the Old testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-god-of-the-old-testament-is-arguably-the-most-unpleasant-2/) [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/) > [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/) > [I don't actually think 'The Selfish Gene' is a very good title. I think that's one of my worst titles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-don-t-actually-think-the-selfish-gene-is-a-very-good-title-i-think/) [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/) > [ “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 Arise quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [The financial crisis we are facing today arises from the fact that there is almost no more social, cultural, natural, and spiritual capital left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/the-financial-crisis-we-are-facing-today-arises-from-the-fact-that/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [Let art, then, imitate nature, find what she desires, and follow as she directs. For in invention nature is never last, education never first;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/let-art-then-imitate-nature-find-what-she-desires-and-follow-as-she/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Do not be satisfied with the speech of your lips and the thought in your heart, all the promises and good sayings in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/do-not-be-satisfied-with-the-speech-of-your-lips-and-the-thought-in/) [Menachem Mendel of Kotzk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/) > [Arise Evans had a fungous nose, and said, it was revealed to him, that the King's hand would cure him, and at the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-aubrey/arise-evans-had-a-fungous-nose-and-said-it-was-revealed-to-him-that/) [John Aubrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-aubrey/) > [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [We need less travelling by jet plaes from congress to congress... but more kneeling and praying and pleading to God to have mercy on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martyn-lloyd-jones/we-need-less-travelling-by-jet-plaes-from-congress-to-congress-but/) [Martyn Lloyd-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martyn-lloyd-jones/) > [In my model, important interference phenomena arise when individual strata come into contact. These chaotic fluctuations are, I suppose, what my music is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-ferneyhough/in-my-model-important-interference-phenomena-arise-when-individual/) [Brian Ferneyhough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-ferneyhough/) > [Whenever you step out of the noise of thinking, that is meditation, and a different state of consciousness arises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/whenever-you-step-out-of-the-noise-of-thinking-that-is-meditation-and/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [An idea or institution may arise for one reason and be maintained for quite a different reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/an-idea-or-institution-may-arise-for-one-reason-and-be-maintained-for/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [The oppressed without hope are mysteriously quiet. When the conception of change is beyond the limits of the possible, there are no words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-rowbotham/the-oppressed-without-hope-are-mysteriously-quiet-when-the-conception/) [Sheila Rowbotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-rowbotham/) > [I arise full of eagerness and energy, knowing well what achievement lies ahead of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zane-grey/i-arise-full-of-eagerness-and-energy-knowing-well-what-achievement/) [Zane Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zane-grey/) > [When you train your thoughts to dissolve as they arise, they will cross your mind like a bird crosses the sky--without leaving a trace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julietta-suzuki/when-you-train-your-thoughts-to-dissolve-as-they-arise-they-will/) Julietta Suzuki > [Nothing, not even the best and noblest, can go on as it now is. Nothing, not even what is lowest and most bestial, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-not-even-the-best-and-noblest-can-go-on-as-it-now-is-nothing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So we and our elaborately evolving computers may meet each other halfway. Someday a human being, named perhaps Fred White, may shoot a robot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/so-we-and-our-elaborately-evolving-computers-may-meet-each-other/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) Browse all 1,703 Arise quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Whenever conditions arise in which a new kind of replicator can make copies of itself, the new replicators will tend to take over, and start a new kind of evolution of their own. 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