preview

Persuasive Essay : ' The Selfish Gene '

Decent Essays

What is one of the first things you’ll hear about working in the TV industry? That it’s a good, exciting career path? That you’ll work with great people, have great, varied experiences, or earn a living doing what you love? No.
We are told that it is cut-throat. And more often than not, we are told that the only way we will be successful is if we act the same. We can’t even be nice. Ever heard the words “too nice for this industry” aimed at somebody? “I know work can get busy, you are ambitious and driven, but that’s no excuse for rudeness or throwing someone under the bus. Maintain your dignity, remember Karma’s a bitch.” (Wright, blog, 2014)
The world we live in goes about success in the wrong way. According to Richard
Dawkins’ ‘The Selfish Gene’, we are all born with inherently selfish genes, in-built for our survival: to self-preserve, to keep oneself safe from predators, to get what you need and keep it to survive. But this does not fit in our current society. As Dawkins states himself, “Let us try to teach generosity and altruism, because we are born selfish. Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to, because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs, something no other species has ever aspired to.” (Dawkins, 1976, p.3) Now, does this mean I’m asking you to be utterly, completely selfless? No. There is something about this quote that is wrong.
It is not selfishness we need to get rid of, it’s exploitation. “The dictionary defines

Get Access