Of Replicators And SelectorsA review ofThe Imitation Factor: Evolution Beyond The Gene.ByLee Alan Dugatkin. New York: The Free Press. $25.00. xi + 243 p; index. ISBN: 0–684–86453–3. 2000.

Abstract

A review of The Imitation Factor: Evolution Beyond the Gene. By Lee Alan Dugatkin. New York: The Free Press. $25.00. xi 243 p; index. ISBN: 0-684-86453-3. 2000. The thesis of this volume is that many animals, from guppies to gorillas, have culture, and this is an important factor in evolution. The author believes that it allows the behavior of a single animal to spread through a population and then be maintained in it. He discusses the spread of culture as the spread of memes. Dugatkin has read the relevant literature and explains some of it clearly. He has also run elegant and creative experiments, especially on his favorite laboratory animal, the guppy. He ignores, however, significant conceptual distinctions, leading him to conflate concepts and draw false conclusions. To understand why, it will help to review some evolutionary theory about replicators and selectors.