The "selfish gene" framing — popularized in Richard Dawkins's 1976 book — has been enormously influential in evolutionary biology. Critics including biologist Lim Su-jin argue it has also been read too literally. Genes, she notes, do not have interests or strategies; the metaphor is a bookkeeping device for tracking which genetic variants persist. Used carefully, the framing remains useful; treated as a description of motives, it misleads not just laypeople but sometimes biologists themselves.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
- A
Metaphors should be banned in science.
- B
Dawkins was wrong about evolution.
- C
Genes are selfish actors.
- Dcheck_circle
Lim argues that the selfish-gene metaphor remains useful but is misleading when read as describing actual motives.
Explanation
The passage's central claim is Lim's careful position on the metaphor — B. A is the literal misreading; C and D oversimplify.