The not so Extended Phenotype

(zie ook: The Extended Phemotype)

"When I am asked by lay people (as I frequently am) whether buildings count as extended phenotypes, I answer no, on the grounds that the success or failure of buildings does not affect the frequency of architects’ genes in the gene pool. Extended phenotypes are worthy of the name only if they are candidate adaptations for the benefit of alleles responsible for variations in them. I might admit the theoretical possibility of generalising to other kinds of replicators such as memes, in which case my ‘no’ answer might be softened." (Dawkins 2004, Extended Phenotype - But Not Too Extended, p. 1)