That organisms strive or desire to improve. Genes do not have any intent at all.
They are not jumping from species to species so they can survive. Their horizontal transfer is entirely serendipitous.
But, that attitude neatly dances around the fact that the drive of life (not just an individual organism)
has been a relentless development towards ever more cognitive and motor skills.
Hell now that chimpanzees have taken up drinking alcohol (the foundation of western society development) -
who knows what the future holds
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jun/10/chimpanzees-bossou-south-eastern-guinea-habitual-drinking
:cheese:
There is no drive of life. There are simply chemical reactions and environmental forces that select for one set of reactions over another. Sometimes that leads to greater cognitive abilities, and other times it leads to faster runners, higher flyers, or stickier barnacles. It's only by our own conceit that we believe there is a preferential drive toward the development of smarter organisms like ourselves.
You're right, the only drive is for survival--whatever that entails.
Lois