I noted the parallels between the evolutionary units the vehicle and the replicator and the doctrinal notions of the relations between the body and it's immortal spirit here
It's time to delve a little deeper.
Dawkins draws the following conclusions from his perspective of the selfishness evident in genes:
"My own feelings is that a human society based simply on the gene's law of universal ruthless selfishness would be a very nasty society in which to live"
He then suggests that to build a better society:
"Let us try to teach generocity and altruism, because we are born selfish. Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to, because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs, something that no other species has ever aspired to"
Reading these sentiments I can't help but think of the following verse from scripture:
Mosiah3:19 For the
natural manis an enemy to God, and has been from thefall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off thenatural manand becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
It is my perspective that the natural man referred to above is the raw, wild, selfish, uncivilized vehicle that was prepared via the evolutionary process.
Evolution's selfish "survival of the fittest" operations delivered a perfectly constructed vehicle in which our Heavenly Father could place his immortal spirit children to be put through their paces and grow them in their eternal progression.
The selfish beast within would be constantly seeking to break the fetters of restraint exercised upon it by the immortal spirit within. This would test the resolve of the spirit to overcome these natural inborn tendencies of the evolved body. To reach for greatness and prove the spirits divine origin and birthright against stiff odds.
The evolved human body with all its raw natural tendencies would be the ultimate gym and workout routine to build the immortal spirit's muscles as it is constantly surrounded by the baser desires of the selfish vehicle it travels along the journey of life in.
I'm quite comfortable with God using the evolutionary process to create the bodies of men and women that would, when ready, house his spirit children in their mortal testing phase. Adam and Eve being the first to have individualized spirits bound to these evolved bodies and via the fall enabling this process to continue for all that would follow.
Dawkins the atheist himself recognizes that there must be more than just our genes at work here. He ascribes any progress from "the nastiest of societies" to culture.
It's my opinion that there is more to this than simply culture.