"The Selfish Gene" and "Savage Inequalities"

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews the the Darwinian theory of evolution present in the books "The Selfish Gene" by Richard Dawkins and "Savage Inequalities" by Jonathan Kozol. The author critiques Richard Dawkins' suggestion of a 'selfish gene' in his book, in which he takes the complex science of genetics and uses it to explain sociological phenomenon. The author argues that Dawkins, does not advocate the idea that evolution is equatable with morality instead, he divorces evolution from morality to present his theory of how evolution shapes sociology. The author also discusses Jonathan Kozol's concerns about the moral and political implications of Social Darwinism and critiques that, although Kozol does a good job with describing the problems of social inequalities, he hardly addresses educational reforms.

From the Paper:

"Research reveals that meaningful educational reform is going to require an overarching change in the social structure value memes. First, society is going to have to understand that all children are equal and deserve equal educational opportunities. It would be easy to suggest that society should view all humans as equal, but that is an impossible goal. Adults recognize that not all human beings are equal. Through life circumstances, by the time people enter into adult life, they do have differences in potential. Furthermore, by adulthood, differences in choices have frequently furthered the gap in potential. To pretend that those differences do not exist is to try to establish a meme that will not take root because it is contradicted by the daily life experiences of members of both the dominant the subordinate social class."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Corrales, J. (1999) The politics of education reform: bolstering the supply and demand; overcoming institutional blocks. Retrieved January 19, 2008 from the World Bank Web site: http://www1.worldbank.org/education/globaleducationreform/pdf/corrales.pdf
• Catalano, J. (1996) Review: Richard Dawkins: books: the selfish gene. Retrieved January 19,2008 from The World of Richard DawkinsWeb site: http://www.simonyi.ox.ac.uk/dawkins/WorldOfDawkins-archive/Dawkins/Work/Books/selfish.shtml
• Dawkins, R. (1989) The selfish gene, 2d. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Fischel, W. (1998) How judges are making public schools worse. Retrieved January 20, 2008 from City Journal Web site: http://www.city-journal.org/html/8_3_how_judges.html
• Holcomb, H. & J. Byron. (2005) Sociobiology. Retrieved January 19, 2008 from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web site: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sociobiology

More papers on "The Selfish Gene" and "Savage Inequalities":

• Term Paper # 121183 : "Cultural Evolution and Educational Inequalities"
• Analytical Essay # 142283 : "Critique of Two Books: Dawkins and Kozol"
• Analytical Essay # 137214 : "Kuhn, Kozol, and Dawkins: A Critique"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: