Chicago Gangsters and Dawkins

Dawkins assumes as position of authority, we can infer this by his writing itself. This position can be interpreted as “Hey look I’m a scientist and this is my book, I will tell you my opinion through science.” He is concise, “My purpose is to examine the biology of selfishness and altruism.”(pg 1) Even if we think this barrier of “Wise and arrogant” exists we have to give him credit for saying right away what is the purpose of the book. Some writers tend to use the same “authoritarian” position and lead the reader to a tenuous novel of insignificant value. Explicitly he never states that he is superior to the reader and that his opinion is better. However the use of simple arguments such as “ It (biology) touches every aspect of our social lives, our loving and hating, fighting and cooperating, giving and stealing, our greed and generosity.”(pg 2) Tend to be an attempt of persuasion towards the reader. This proves that Dawkins tries to use his knowledge to influence the reader. This is not an “evil” technique, as matter of fact I’m trying to persuade you. He states that, “The argument of this book is that we, and all other animals, are machines created by our genes. Like successful Chicago Gangsters, our genes have survived, in some cases for millions of years, in a highly competitive world.”(pg 2) Yes, Dawkins we have to survive, survival can be understood in a biological level (as Dawkins states) or a moral degree. Probably you need to sell books and teach science. I need to comment about your text and eventually do something to live. Whatever we must undergo in order to survive is indeed a biological trait, nothing new to must of us. Personally I love the fact you include Chicago gangsters as an example of this, it reminds me of “The Godfather.”