Definition
The gene-centric view of evolution treats the gene — not the individual, the group, or the species — as the fundamental unit on which natural selection acts. Genes are the replicators: entities that copy themselves with high fidelity across generations. Bodies are survival machines — temporary vehicles that replicators build and discard.
The framework was crystallized in Richard Dawkins's 1976 The Selfish Gene, drawing on prior work by George C. Williams, W. D. Hamilton, John Maynard Smith, and Robert Trivers.
Why it matters
How it works
A gene is "selfish" when its presence increases the frequency of copies of itself in the next generation's gene pool. This can happen by building a body that survives and reproduces (the direct route) or by building a body that helps others (kin, reciprocators) survive and reproduce (the indirect route, via Hamilton's rule).
The framework reframes every evolutionary question. Instead of "what does the species need?" the question becomes "what gene-level optimum is selection finding?" Instead of "what is best for the organism?" the question becomes "whose genes does this behavior benefit?"