The Doctrine of DNA

This work is a challenge to the orthodox claim that all human existence is controlled by our DNA. Lewontin questions the assumptions based on this belief and its influence on the direction of biological research, in particular the Human Genome Project.

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A short but powerful book, the latest in the continuing debate between the genetic reductionists (such as Richard Dawkins, John Maynard Smith and E.O. Wilson) and those who argue for a rather more complex relationship between genes and the environment (such as Stephen Jay Gould, Steven Rose and Niles Eldredge). Lewontin is a forceful writer and this is an effective statement (largely because it is so short) of the case against the "selfish gene".