The Selfish Gene- the purpose of our existence

    

     Man never passes on genes. The truth is that the gene uses man to pass itself on. Bitter as it sounds, an organism is no more than a transient medium whereby the gene is carried to future generations. This means that almost every aspect of animal behavior is elaborately coded so as to secure and consequently pass down the gene to the descents. Particularly interesting was the behavior of the Ground Squirrel. Living in groups, Ground Squirrels are renowned for making loud, characteristic alarm calls when they spot a predator. The individual organism that first spots the predator and makes the call is, of course, very likely to be killed by the predator. Underlying such seemingly altruistic behavior is an extremely calculative, even selfish motive. Keep in mind that the true beneficiary of the alarm call is neither the group nor the individual--it is the gene. By sacrificing the individual organism and instead saving many close relatives within the group possessing itself,  the gene has successfully done its purpose of  'self-reproduction.' The will of the individual is of no importance in this grand scheme. Even humans cannot be an exception. Maternal love, often considered noble and even divine, is no more than a small component of the gene's scheme to safely reproduce itself--remember that the child is the direct inheritor of his parents' genes. The conclusion is therefore very clear. Gene rules.
     However, this does not mean that man is not a noble creature. Richard Dawkins is in fact a great humanist despite all the malicious and undeserved rumors and blames targeted towards him by some exceptionally absurd group of people. Dawkins extends his unique argument about 'self-reproduction' to literally everything existing in the universe including ideologies, philosophies, culture, art, and anything created by human beings. These self-reproducing entities are called 'Memes.'  Unlike that between gene and man, the relationship between meme and man is an extremely productive and expansive one. The genes may be extremely transient (the combination of my genes would shrink into 1/8 only after three generations), but the memes, the most majestic and glorious products of human intelligence and creativity, transcend countless number of generations (#Socrates, Plato, Aristotle), greatly contributing to the breathtaking grandeur of mankind. As the Korean proverb "A tiger leaves a skin behind him; a man leaves his name" suggests, the true value of our existence comes from the achievements we make in our lives. The products of such achievements, transcending time and space to which we belong, shall not only illuminate the future but also leave our marks on the universe. The purpose of our existence is therefore clear. Once we are not given the choice to defy the scheme of our genes, the only way we can make ourselves meaningful is contributing to the future with the endless legacies of our achievements.