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NL888 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Does "a 'survival machine' for its genes" mean "a 'survival machine' that is supporting its genes"?
Context:
Dawkins proposes the idea of the "replicator,"[4] the initial http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecule which first managed to reproduce itself and thus gained an advantage over other molecules within the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abiogenesis#.22Primordial_soup.22_theory.[5] Today, Dawkins postulates, the replicators are the genes within organisms, with each organism's body serving the purpose of a 'survival machine' for its genes.
Dawkins proposes the idea of the "replicator,"[4] the initial http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecule which first managed to reproduce itself and thus gained an advantage over other molecules within the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abiogenesis#.22Primordial_soup.22_theory.[5] Today, Dawkins postulates, the replicators are the genes within organisms, with each organism's body serving the purpose of a 'survival machine' for its genes.
Top answer
NL888 Does "a 'survival machine' for its genes" mean "a 'survival machine' that is supporting its genes? Yes. A machine that insures the survival of its genes.
- NL888 Does "a 'survival machine' for its genes" mean "a 'survival machine' that is supporting its genes?
- Yes.
- A machine that insures the survival of its genes.
- CJ
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3 Answers
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NL888Does "a 'survival machine' for its genes" mean "a 'survival machine' that is supporting its genes?Yes. A machine that insures the survival of its genes.
CJ
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Thank you.
Does "with each organism's body serving the purpose" mean "because each organism's body serving the purpose"?
Does "with each organism's body serving the purpose" mean "because each organism's body serving the purpose"?
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NL888Thank you.Does "with each organism's body serving the purpose" mean "because each organism's body serving the purpose"?No. You can safely ignore 'with'. It doesn't add much meaning to the sentence. 'with' often occurs at the beginning of a participle clause like this one. It's more like a signal that further related information is being added to the s
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