In this chapter the discussion is focused on the behavior of living organisms. How genes are the blueprints or outline that a specific body (whole organism) is developed from in order to ensure the continued existence of each gene. Successful life ultimately is determined by how that body interacts with its environment and how well its genes prepared it for this environment, mentally and physically.
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As our survival machines battle it out for the ever diminishing organic molecules in early earth's primeval soup, a branch that would later become plants broke away and thrived in its ability to utilize solar energy to convert simpler molecules into more complex ones that could be metabolized. This increased complexity continued with the evolution of further sub-branches of both photosynthetic and other survival machines. Then comes about colonies of these survival machines (or by this point, cells) that work in unison to achieve a common goal of each gene, to survive and reproduce. "Selection has favored genes that cooperate with others." At this point on Dawkins notes, altruistic behaviour and selfish behaviour are meant in terms of "one animal body toward another."
Behaviour is defined here as: "the trick of rapid movement which has been largely exploited by the animal branch of survival machines." Animals use muscles working against bones and joints to produce tension and thus movement. But what causes this movement to occur? Or more importantly for us, how does rapid information tell muscles to move and ultimately protect or assist the genes continue existence without direct control from the genes themselves? Natural selection has in-turn favored those with sensory nerves, which would later evolve into very complex organs. This pulse of information is sent from the outside environment both directly to the muscle. Now, in order to be achieve more complex interaction with our environment, the evolution of collection of neurons that would become a brain allowed for the storing of memories. Behaviour could be influenced by not only the precent, but also the distant past. What's important here is that all living organisms act with an apparent purposiveness, that if we see others in the act of "searching for food, or a mate, or for a lost child, we can hardly help imputing to it some of the subjective feelings we ourselves experience when we search." "This purposiveness has evolved the property we call 'consciousness'." It is easy to program a computer to have certain goals or aims, but are they actually conscious? He leaves this question open for the reader and returns to his explanation.
Here Dawkins uses the analogy of a computer playing chess. Now, it would be impossible to fill a computer up with all of the possible moves in chess and which ones to use in all situation. As with our genes, there isn't a specific gene for each situation we could possible come across in our lives. Computers are given a set of basic rules to follow, or goals to aim for, "all the programmer can do is to set the computer up beforehand in the best way possible, with a proper balance between lists of specific knowledge, and hints about strategies and techniques."
As with computers, our brains have the ability to simulate a variety of possible situations that could happen in the future, near or far. This is a powerful tool for survival because it allows us to surpass trail and error. Our mental compactly has yet again given us a way of protecting our genes. "Perhaps consciousness arises when the brain's simulation of the world becomes so complete that it must include a model of itself."
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"What has all this to do with altruism and selfishness? I am trying to build up the idea that animal behaviour, altruistic or selfish, is under the control of genes in only an indirect, but still very powerful, sense."
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