Transcript of Why Do We Exist?｜How Genes Control Us | Your Thoughts Aren’t Yours

Why do I help others? Is it because I'm truly kind? Or is there something deeper at play? The selfish gene by Richard Dawkins offers a provocative answer. We don't live just for ourselves. Our genes use us, our bodies, our actions as tools to replicate themselves. Evolution doesn't act on species or individuals. Dawkins argues the gene is the true unit of natural selection and each gene has a single purpose to copy itself as widely and as often as possible to achieve that. Genes employ clever strategies. They often appear altruistic but at their core they're selfish. We share with siblings, sacrifice for children and help strangers. Why? Because our genes also live in those we're related to. Helping them means helping copies of our own genes survive. This is known as kin selection. Another strategy is reciprocal altruism. If I help you now, you're more likely to help me later. So, even kindness can be a calculated survival move. Then, Dawkins introduces a bold idea. The meme. Memes are ideas, behaviors, or cultural units that replicate from mind to mind. Like genes use bodies, memes, use brains to spread. Why do some ideas go viral while others vanish? Because memes, like genes, undergo selection. Only the fittest survive. In the end, perhaps we're not just individuals, but carriers of selfish genes and evolving means. Even our thoughts, are they truly our own? Who am I? Why do I exist? The selfish gene doesn't just explain evolution. It challenges us to rethink what it means to be