United States entomologist who has generalized from social insects to other animals including humans (born in 1929)
The 1981 book Genes, Mind, and Culture: The Coevolutionary Process by Charles J. Lumsden and E. O. Wilson proposed the theory that genes and culture co-evolve, and that the fundamental biological units of culture must correspond to neuronal networks that function as nodes of semantic memory.
apply quantum theory to; restrict the number of possible values of (a quantity) or states of (a physical entity or system) so that certain variables can assume only certain discrete magnitudes that are integral multiples of a common factor
While the identification of memes as "units" conveys their nature to replicate as discrete, indivisible entities, it does not imply that thoughts somehow become quantized or that "atomic" ideas exist which cannot be dissected into smaller pieces.
Blackmore meets such criticism by stating that memes compare with genes in this respect: that while a gene has no particular size, nor can we ascribe every phenotypic feature directly to a particular gene, it has value because it encapsulates that key unit of inherited expression subject to evolutionary pressures.
your memory for meanings and general (impersonal) facts
The 1981 book Genes, Mind, and Culture: The Coevolutionary Process by Charles J. Lumsden and E. O. Wilson proposed the theory that genes and culture co-evolve, and that the fundamental biological units of culture must correspond to neuronal networks that function as nodes of semantic memory.
a cultural unit (an idea or value or pattern of behavior) that is passed from one person to another by non-genetic means (as by imitation)
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
evasively worded in order to avoid an unqualified statement
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of or relating to a quantum or capable of existing in only one of two states
While the identification of memes as "units" conveys their nature to replicate as discrete, indivisible entities, it does not imply that thoughts somehow become quantized or that "atomic" ideas exist which cannot be dissected into smaller pieces.
a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one)
In contrast, the concept of genetics gained concrete evidence with the discovery of the biological functions of DNA. In the context of the exact sciences, memetics suffers in comparison because, unlike the idea of genes, memes do not necessarily have or need a concrete medium in order to transfer.
[edit] Transmission
Life-forms can transmit information both vertically (from parent to child, via replication of genes) and horizontally (through viruses and other means).
using the name of one thing for that of another with which it is closely associated
His theory of "cultural software" maintained that memes form narratives, networks of cultural associations, metaphoric and metonymic models, and a variety of different mental structures.
John S. Wilkins retained the notion of meme as a kernel of cultural imitation while emphasizing the meme's evolutionary aspect, defining the meme as "the least unit of sociocultural information relative to a selection process that has favourable or unfavourable selection bias that exceeds its endogenous tendency to change."[12]
The British scientist Richard Dawkins introduced the word "meme" in The Selfish Gene (1976) as a basis for discussion of evolutionary principles in explaining the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena.
Proponents of this view (such as Susan Blackmore and Daniel Dennett) argue that considering cultural developments from a meme's-eye view—as if memes themselves respond to pressure to maximise their own replication and survival—can lead to useful insights and yield valuable predictions into how culture develops over time.
the branch of anthropology that deals with human culture and society
Principal criticisms[which?] of memetics include the claim that memetics ignores established advances in other fields of cultural study, such as sociology, cultural anthropology, cognitive psychology, and social psychology.
To Balkin, whether memes become harmful or maladaptive depends on the environmental context in which they exist rather than in any special source or manner to their origination.
an approach to psychology that emphasizes internal mental processes
Principal criticisms[which?] of memetics include the claim that memetics ignores established advances in other fields of cultural study, such as sociology, cultural anthropology, cognitive psychology, and social psychology.
the dialect of Malay used as the national language of the Republic of Indonesia or of Malaysia
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of or relating to Darwin's theories as modified by modern genetic findings
* Jan, Steven: The Memetics of Music: A Neo-Darwinian View of Musical Structure and Culture (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007)
* Kelly, Kevin (1994), Out of control: the new biology of machines, social systems and the economic world, Boston: Addison-Wesley, pp. 360, ISBN 0-201-48340-8
* Lynch, Aaron (1996), Thought contagion: how belief spreads through society, New York: BasicBooks, pp. 208, ISBN 0-465-08467-2
* Post, Stephen Garrard; Underwood, Lynn G; Schloss, Jeffrey P Garrar...
of or relating to the shared knowledge and values of a society
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
a philosophical doctrine proposed by Edmund Husserl based on the study of human experience in which considerations of objective reality are not taken into account
Other examples of the varying degrees of criticism of memetics include the following:
[edit] Lack of philosophical appeal
In his chapter titled "Truth" published in the Encyclopedia of Phenomenology, Dieter Lohmar questions the memeticists' reduction of the highly complex body of ideas (such as religion, politics, war, justice, and science itself) to a putatively one-dimensional series of memes.
the dialect of Malay used as the national language of the Republic of Indonesia or of Malaysia
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the study or prediction of future developments on the basis of existing conditions
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(genetics) a segment of DNA that is involved in producing a polypeptide chain; it can include regions preceding and following the coding DNA as well as introns between the exons; it is considered a unit of heredity
Supporters of the concept regard memes as cultural analogues to genes, in that they self-replicate and respond to selective pressures.[3]
Cognitively transmitted memes depend heavily on a cluster of other ideas and cognitive traits already widely held in the population, and thus usually spread more passively than other forms of meme transmission.
(biology) the sequence of events involved in the evolutionary development of a species or taxonomic group of organisms
Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success.
Children respond particularly receptively to the ideas of their parents, and thus ideas which directly or indirectly encourage a higher birthrate will replicate themselves at a higher rate than those that discourage higher birthrates.
2.
Ideas that encourage the proselytism of a meme, as seen in many religious or political movements, can replicate memes horizontally through a given generation, spreading more rapidly than parent-to-child meme-transmissions do.
4.
(psychology) the performance of some composite cognitive activity; an operation that affects mental contents
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This issue with the possibility of memes has an illustration in the inability of such a meme-reductionist proposal to afford an explanation of how memetics itself qualifies as a meme, or, further, how one could describe biological genetics as a rather successful meme current in 20th-century science.
republic in northern Europe; achieved independence from Russia in 1917
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The 1981 book Genes, Mind, and Culture: The Coevolutionary Process by Charles J. Lumsden and E. O. Wilson proposed the theory that genes and culture co-evolve, and that the fundamental biological units of culture must correspond to neuronal networks that function as nodes of semantic memory.
pertaining to biology or to life and living things
Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success.
an activity resembling science but based on fallacious assumptions
Memetics thus remains a theory in its infancy, a protoscience to proponents, or a pseudoscience to some detractors[who?].
[edit] Criticism of meme theory
An objection to the study of the evolution of memes in genetic terms (although not to the existence of memes) involves the fact that the cumulative evolution of genes depends on biological selection-pressures neither too great nor too small in relation to mutation-rates.
the branch of biology that studies heredity and variation in organisms
Dawkins wrote that evolution depended not on the particular chemical basis of genetics, but only on the existence of a self-replicating unit of transmission – in the case of biological evolution, the gene.
Others such as Bruce Edmonds and Robert Aunger have focused on the need to provide an empirical grounding for memetics to become a useful and respected scientific discipline.[22]
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
based on theories and methods erroneously regarded as scientific
Luis Benitez-Bribiesca M.D., a critic of memetics, calls it "a pseudoscientific dogma" and "a dangerous idea that poses a threat to the serious study of conciousness and cultural evolution" among other things.
Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success.
characterized by minimal distortion in sound reproduction
In their view, minds structure certain communicable aspects of the ideas produced, and these communicable aspects generally trigger or elicit ideas in other minds through inference (to relatively rich structures generated from often low-fidelity input) and not high-fidelity replication or imitation.
John S. Wilkins retained the notion of meme as a kernel of cultural imitation while emphasizing the meme's evolutionary aspect, defining the meme as "the least unit of sociocultural information relative to a selection process that has favourable or unfavourable selection bias that exceeds its endogenous tendency to change."[12]
* Jan, Steven: The Memetics of Music: A Neo-Darwinian View of Musical Structure and Culture (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007)
* Kelly, Kevin (1994), Out of control: the new biology of machines, social systems and the economic world, Boston: Addison-Wesley, pp. 360, ISBN 0-201-48340-8
* Lynch, Aaron (1996), Thought contagion: how belief spreads through society, New York: BasicBooks, pp. 208, ISBN 0-465-08467-2
* Post, Stephen Garrard; Underwood, Lynn G; Schloss, Jeffrey P Garrard (2002...
prepare for publication or presentation by correcting, revising, or adapting
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
a phosphoric ester of a nucleoside; the basic structural unit of nucleic acids (DNA or RNA)
To illustrate, she notes evolution selects for the gene for features such as eye color; it does not select for the individual nucleotide in a strand of DNA. Memes play a comparable role in understanding the evolution of imitated behaviors.[8]
expressing one thing in terms normally denoting another
His theory of "cultural software" maintained that memes form narratives, networks of cultural associations, metaphoric and metonymic models, and a variety of different mental structures.
Blackmore meets such criticism by stating that memes compare with genes in this respect: that while a gene has no particular size, nor can we ascribe every phenotypic feature directly to a particular gene, it has value because it encapsulates that key unit of inherited expression subject to evolutionary pressures.
the ratio of live births in an area to the population of that area; expressed per 1000 population per year
Children respond particularly receptively to the ideas of their parents, and thus ideas which directly or indirectly encourage a higher birthrate will replicate themselves at a higher rate than those that discourage higher birthrates.
2.
In another experiment, normal subjects and autistic subjects interpreted ideological and religious sayings (for example, "Let a thousand flowers bloom" or "To everything there is a season").
small carnivorous mammal with short legs and elongated body and neck
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Other examples of the varying degrees of criticism of memetics include the following:
[edit] Lack of philosophical appeal
In his chapter titled "Truth" published in the Encyclopedia of Phenomenology, Dieter Lohmar questions the memeticists' reduction of the highly complex body of ideas (such as religion, politics, war, justice, and science itself) to a putatively one-dimensional series of memes.
the branch of medical science dealing with the transmission and control of disease
Memetics attempts to apply conventional scientific methods (such as those used in population genetics and epidemiology) to explain existing patterns and transmission of cultural ideas.
Imitation often involves the copying of an observed behaviour of another individual, but memes may transmit from one individual to another through a copy recorded in an inanimate source, such as a book or a musical score.
the branch of psychology that studies persons and their relationships with others and with groups and with society as a whole
Principal criticisms[which?] of memetics include the claim that memetics ignores established advances in other fields of cultural study, such as sociology, cultural anthropology, cognitive psychology, and social psychology.
a computer network consisting of a worldwide network of computer networks that use the TCP/IP network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
the quality of unselfish concern for the welfare of others
By linking altruism with religious affiliation, religious memes can proliferate more quickly because people perceive that they can reap societal as well as personal rewards.
In their view, minds structure certain communicable aspects of the ideas produced, and these communicable aspects generally trigger or elicit ideas in other minds through inference (to relatively rich structures generated from often low-fidelity input) and not high-fidelity replication or imitation.
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capable of being put into another form or style or language
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translatable...
of or in or along or relating to a line; involving a single dimension
Other examples of the varying degrees of criticism of memetics include the following:
[edit] Lack of philosophical appeal
In his chapter titled "Truth" published in the Encyclopedia of Phenomenology, Dieter Lohmar questions the memeticists' reduction of the highly complex body of ideas (such as religion, politics, war, justice, and science itself) to a putatively one-dimensional series of memes.
Principal criticisms[which?] of memetics include the claim that memetics ignores established advances in other fields of cultural study, such as sociology, cultural anthropology, cognitive psychology, and social psychology.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
a writer who collaborates with others in writing something
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity o...
fit for publication because free of material that is morally or legally objectionable
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Balkin describes racist beliefs as "fantasy" memes which become harmful or unjust "ideologies" when diverse peoples come together, as through trade or competition.[26]
[edit] Internet culture
Main article: Internet meme
The term "Internet meme" refers to a catchphrase or concept that spreads rapidly from person to person via the Internet, largely through Internet-based email, blogs, forums, Internet-based social networking sites and Internet-based instant messaging.
Some denominations' promise of heaven to believers and threat of hell to non-believers provide a strong incentive for members to retain their belief (though not for nonbelievers to adopt it, as that promise and threat are among the tenets that they do not find credible in the first place[citation needed]).
United States puppeteer who created a troupe of puppet characters (1936-1990)
Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 368, ISBN 0192177737
* Dennett, Daniel C. (2006), Breaking the Spell, Viking (Penguin), ISBN 0-670-03472-X
* Dennett, Daniel (1991), Consciousness Explained, Boston: Little, Brown and Co., ISBN 0316180653
* Distin, Kate (2005), The selfish meme: a critical reassessment, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 238, ISBN 0-521-60627-6
* Farnish, Keith, "Time's Up! An Uncivilized Solution To A Global Crisis", Totnes: Green Books, p...
a large spaniel with wavy silky coat usually black or liver and white
An evolutionary psychology perspective on why and how cult memes get a drug-like hold on people, and what might be done to mitigate the effects", The Human Nature Review 2002 Volume 2: 343-355
* Heylighen, Francis; Chielens, K. (2009), "Evolution of Culture, Memetics", in Meyers, B., Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science, Springer, http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Papers/Memetics-Springer.pdf
the social science that studies the origins and social relationships of human beings
Principal criticisms[which?] of memetics include the claim that memetics ignores established advances in other fields of cultural study, such as sociology, cultural anthropology, cognitive psychology, and social psychology.
that which is perceived or known or inferred to have its own distinct existence (living or nonliving)
Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success.
a written form of a musical composition; parts for different instruments appear on separate staves on large pages
Imitation often involves the copying of an observed behaviour of another individual, but memes may transmit from one individual to another through a copy recorded in an inanimate source, such as a book or a musical score.
relating to or having the nature of illation or inference
Only the autistic subjects—who lack the degree of inferential capacity normally associated with aspects of theory of mind—came close to functioning as "meme machines".[24]
a reference work (often in several volumes) containing articles on various topics (often arranged in alphabetical order) dealing with the entire range of human knowledge or with some particular specialty
Other examples of the varying degrees of criticism of memetics include the following:
[edit] Lack of philosophical appeal
In his chapter titled "Truth" published in the Encyclopedia of Phenomenology, Dieter Lohmar questions the memeticists' reduction of the highly complex body of ideas (such as religion, politics, war, justice, and science itself) to a putatively one-dimensional series of memes.
Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catch-phrases, beliefs (notably religious beliefs), clothing fashion, and the technology of building arches.[4]
an official language of the Republic of South Africa; closely related to Dutch and Flemish
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Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 368, ISBN 0192177737
* Dennett, Daniel C. (2006), Breaking the Spell, Viking (Penguin), ISBN 0-670-03472-X
* Dennett, Daniel (1991), Consciousness Explained, Boston: Little, Brown and Co., ISBN 0316180653
* Distin, Kate (2005), The selfish meme: a critical reassessment, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 238, ISBN 0-521-60627-6
* Farnish, Keith, "Time's Up! An Uncivilized Solution To A Global Crisis", Totnes: Green B...
Because humans do not always copy memes perfectly, and because they may refine, combine or otherwise modify them with other memes to create new memes, they can change over time.
Meme theory commonly cites memes grouped in memeplexes of religion as examples.[16]
[edit] Memetics
Main article: Memetics
The discipline of memetics, which dates from the mid 1980s, provides an approach to evolutionary models of cultural information transfer based on the concept of the meme.
In contrast, the concept of genetics gained concrete evidence with the discovery of the biological functions of DNA. In the context of the exact sciences, memetics suffers in comparison because, unlike the idea of genes, memes do not necessarily have or need a concrete medium in order to transfer.
[edit] Transmission
Life-forms can transmit information both vertically (from parent to child, via replication of genes) and horizontally (through viruses and other means).
The image of the crucifixion recurs in religious sacraments, and the proliferation of symbols of the cross (itself a meme) in homes and churches potently reinforces the wide array of Christian memes.[11]
[edit] Memetic explanations of racism
In Cultural Software: A Theory of Ideology, Jack Balkin argued that memetic processes can explain many of the most familiar features of ideological thought.
Susan Blackmore writes that melodies from Beethoven's symphonies are commonly used to illustrate the difficulty involved in delimiting memes as discrete units.
As factual criticism, he refers to the lack of a code script for memes, as the DNA is for genes, and to the fact that the meme mutation mechanism (i.e., an idea going from one brain to another) is too unstable (low replication accuracy and high mutation rate), which would render the evolutionary process chaotic.[18]
The highly interconnected, multi-layering of ideas resists memetic simplification to an atomic or molecular form; as does the fact that each of our lives remains fully enmeshed and involved in such "memes".
By linking altruism with religious affiliation, religious memes can proliferate more quickly because people perceive that they can reap societal as well as personal rewards.
Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success.
the distinct personality of an individual regarded as a persisting entity
A third approach, described[by whom?] as "radical memetics", seeks to place memes at the centre of a materialistic theory of mind and of personal identity.[23]
relating to or concerned with the formation of admissible words in a language
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Researchers have observed memetic copying in just a few species on Earth, including hominids, dolphins and birds (which learn how to sing by imitating their parents or neighbors).[9]
By linking altruism with religious affiliation, religious memes can proliferate more quickly because people perceive that they can reap societal as well as personal rewards.
a natural process resulting in the evolution of organisms best adapted to the environment
Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success.
The highly interconnected, multi-layering of ideas resists memetic simplification to an atomic or molecular form; as does the fact that each of our lives remains fully enmeshed and involved in such "memes".
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impregnate with the virus or germ of a disease in order to render immune
For example, religions that preach of the value of faith-based belief over evidence from everyday experience or reason inoculate societies against many of the most basic tools people commonly use to evaluate their ideas.
(biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix; associated with the transmission of genetic information
In contrast, the concept of genetics gained concrete evidence with the discovery of the biological functions of DNA. In the context of the exact sciences, memetics suffers in comparison because, unlike the idea of genes, memes do not necessarily have or need a concrete medium in order to transfer.
[edit] Transmission
Life-forms can transmit information both vertically (from parent to child, via replication of genes) and horizontally (through viruses and other means).
Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success.
an orientation that characterizes the thinking of a group or nation
The image of the crucifixion recurs in religious sacraments, and the proliferation of symbols of the cross (itself a meme) in homes and churches potently reinforces the wide array of Christian memes.[11]
[edit] Memetic explanations of racism
In Cultural Software: A Theory of Ideology, Jack Balkin argued that memetic processes can explain many of the most familiar features of ideological thought.
transfer a file or program to a central computer from a smaller computer or a computer at a remote location
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To emphasize commonality with genes, Dawkins coined the term "meme" by shortening "mimeme", which derives from the Greek word mimema ("something imitated").[1]
the act of executing by a method widespread in the ancient world; the victim's hands and feet are bound or nailed to a cross
Lynch asserts that belief in the crucifixion in Christianity amplifies each of its other replication advantages through the indebtedness believers have to their Savior for sacrifice on the cross.
concerned chiefly or only with yourself and your advantage to the exclusion of others
The British scientist Richard Dawkins introduced the word "meme" in The Selfish Gene (1976) as a basis for discussion of evolutionary principles in explaining the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena.
* 1 Origins and concepts
* 2 Transmission
* 3 Memes as discrete units
* 4 Evolutionary influences on memes
* 5 Memetics
* 6 Criticism of meme theory
o 6.1
the characteristic bodily form of a mature organism
In contrast, the concept of genetics gained concrete evidence with the discovery of the biological functions of DNA. In the context of the exact sciences, memetics suffers in comparison because, unlike the idea of genes, memes do not necessarily have or need a concrete medium in order to transfer.
[edit] Transmission
Life-forms can transmit information both vertically (from parent to child, via replication of genes) and horizontally (through viruses and other means).
a natural process resulting in the evolution of organisms best adapted to the environment
Dawkins noted that as various ideas pass from one generation to the next, they may either enhance or detract from the survival of the people who obtain those ideas, or influence the survival of the ideas themselves.
Ideas which encourage longevity in their hosts, or leave their hosts particularly resistant to abandoning or replacing these ideas, enhance the preservability of memes and afford protection from the competition or proselytism of other memes.
5.
In contrast, the concept of genetics gained concrete evidence with the discovery of the biological functions of DNA. In the context of the exact sciences, memetics suffers in comparison because, unlike the idea of genes, memes do not necessarily have or need a concrete medium in order to transfer.
[edit] Transmission
Life-forms can transmit information both vertically (from parent to child, via replication of genes) and horizontally (through viruses and other means).
a disposition toward schism and secession from a larger group; the principles and practices of separatists
Cultural separatism exemplifies one practice in which one can expect a higher rate of meme-replication — because the meme for separation creates a barrier from exposure to competing ideas.
3.
Memes too, he writes, have the properties necessary for evolution, and thus meme evolution is not simply analogous to genetic evolution, but a real phenomenon subject to the laws of natural selection.
a person who pleads for a cause or propounds an idea
Memetics thus remains a theory in its infancy, a protoscience to proponents, or a pseudoscience to some detractors[who?].
[edit] Criticism of meme theory
An objection to the study of the evolution of memes in genetic terms (although not to the existence of memes) involves the fact that the cumulative evolution of genes depends on biological selection-pressures neither too great nor too small in relation to mutation-rates.
the act of starting something for the first time; introducing something new
To Balkin, whether memes become harmful or maladaptive depends on the environmental context in which they exist rather than in any special source or manner to their origination.
^ See for example John D. Gottsch: "Mutation, Selection, And Vertical Transmission Of Theistic Memes In Religious Canons" in Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission, Volume 5, Issue 1, 2001.
Balkin describes racist beliefs as "fantasy" memes which become harmful or unjust "ideologies" when diverse peoples come together, as through trade or competition.[26]
[edit] Internet culture
Main article: Internet meme
The term "Internet meme" refers to a catchphrase or concept that spreads rapidly from person to person via the Internet, largely through Internet-based email, blogs, forums, Internet-based social networking sites and Internet-based instant messaging.
a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catch-phrases, beliefs (notably religious beliefs), clothing fashion, and the technology of building arches.[4]
a thing made to be similar or identical to another thing
Because humans do not always copy memes perfectly, and because they may refine, combine or otherwise modify them with other memes to create new memes, they can change over time.
the set of facts or circumstances that surround a situation or event
In contrast, the concept of genetics gained concrete evidence with the discovery of the biological functions of DNA. In the context of the exact sciences, memetics suffers in comparison because, unlike the idea of genes, memes do not necessarily have or need a concrete medium in order to transfer.
[edit] Transmission
Life-forms can transmit information both vertically (from parent to child, via replication of genes) and horizontally (through viruses and other means).
hereditary succession to a title or an office or property
Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success.
having or showing belief in and reverence for a deity
Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catch-phrases, beliefs (notably religious beliefs), clothing fashion, and the technology of building arches.[4]
The highly interconnected, multi-layering of ideas resists memetic simplification to an atomic or molecular form; as does the fact that each of our lives remains fully enmeshed and involved in such "memes".
the prejudice that members of one race are intrinsically superior to members of other races
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
relating to or produced by or consisting of molecules
The highly interconnected, multi-layering of ideas resists memetic simplification to an atomic or molecular form; as does the fact that each of our lives remains fully enmeshed and involved in such "memes".
a group of people working together to achieve a political goal
Ideas that encourage the proselytism of a meme, as seen in many religious or political movements, can replicate memes horizontally through a given generation, spreading more rapidly than parent-to-child meme-transmissions do.
4.
someone who theorizes (especially in science or art)
Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success.
* Jan, Steven: The Memetics of Music: A Neo-Darwinian View of Musical Structure and Culture (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007)
* Kelly, Kevin (1994), Out of control: the new biology of machines, social systems and the economic world, Boston: Addison-Wesley, pp. 360, ISBN 0-201-48340-8
* Lynch, Aaron (1996), Thought contagion: how belief spreads through society, New York: BasicBooks, pp. 208, ISBN 0-465-08467-2
* Post, Stephen Garrard; Underwood, Lynn G; Schloss, Jeffrey P Garrard (2002...
(computer science) written programs or procedures or rules and associated documentation pertaining to the operation of a computer system and that are stored in read/write memory
The image of the crucifixion recurs in religious sacraments, and the proliferation of symbols of the cross (itself a meme) in homes and churches potently reinforces the wide array of Christian memes.[11]
[edit] Memetic explanations of racism
In Cultural Software: A Theory of Ideology, Jack Balkin argued that memetic processes can explain many of the most familiar features of ideological thought.
To emphasize commonality with genes, Dawkins coined the term "meme" by shortening "mimeme", which derives from the Greek word mimema ("something imitated").[1]
a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
The leveling-off of all such interesting "memes" down to some neutralized molecular "substance" such as "meme-substance" introduces a bias toward scientism and abandons the very essence of what makes ideas interesting, richly available, and worth studying.[21]
[edit] Applications
Opinions differ as to how best to apply the concept of memes within a "proper" disciplinary framework.
The highly interconnected, multi-layering of ideas resists memetic simplification to an atomic or molecular form; as does the fact that each of our lives remains fully enmeshed and involved in such "memes".
Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 368, ISBN 0192177737
* Dennett, Daniel C. (2006), Breaking the Spell, Viking (Penguin), ISBN 0-670-03472-X
* Dennett, Daniel (1991), Consciousness Explained, Boston: Little, Brown and Co., ISBN 0316180653
* Distin, Kate (2005), The selfish meme: a critical reassessment, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 238, ISBN 0-521-60627-6
* Farnish, Keith, "Time's Up! An Uncivilized Solution To A Global Crisis", Totnes: Green B...
Without such an explanation memes (seen in such terms) find themselves without reason, limited to cover all but science and memetics itself.[citation needed] Others have countered that meme-perspectives do not exclude talk of meaning, truth, or falsity as relevant.[25]
[edit] Religion
See also: Evolutionary psychology of religion
Although evolutionists[who?] had previously[when?] sought to understand and explain religion in terms of a cultural attribute which might conceivably confer...
Imitation often involves the copying of an observed behaviour of another individual, but memes may transmit from one individual to another through a copy recorded in an inanimate source, such as a book or a musical score.
The British scientist Richard Dawkins introduced the word "meme" in The Selfish Gene (1976) as a basis for discussion of evolutionary principles in explaining the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena.
The highly interconnected, multi-layering of ideas resists memetic simplification to an atomic or molecular form; as does the fact that each of our lives remains fully enmeshed and involved in such "memes".
In keeping with the thesis that in evolution one can regard organisms simply as suitable "hosts" for reproducing genes, Dawkins argues that one can view people as "hosts" for replicating memes.
a method of investigation involving observation and theory to test scientific hypotheses
Memetics attempts to apply conventional scientific methods (such as those used in population genetics and epidemiology) to explain existing patterns and transmission of cultural ideas.
ability to produce solutions in some problem domain
In contrast, the concept of genetics gained concrete evidence with the discovery of the biological functions of DNA. In the context of the exact sciences, memetics suffers in comparison because, unlike the idea of genes, memes do not necessarily have or need a concrete medium in order to transfer.
[edit] Transmission
Life-forms can transmit information both vertically (from parent to child, via replication of genes) and horizontally (through viruses and other means).
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
education or instruction in the fundamentals of a field of knowledge
Others such as Bruce Edmonds and Robert Aunger have focused on the need to provide an empirical grounding for memetics to become a useful and respected scientific discipline.[22]
an artificial language based as far as possible on words common to all the European languages
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
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Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catch-phrases, beliefs (notably religious beliefs), clothing fashion, and the technology of building arches.[4]
the right to equivalent opportunities for employment regardless of race or color or sex or national origin
Controls tended to infer a wider range of cultural meanings with little replicated content (for example: "Go with the flow" or "Everyone should have equal opportunity").
In their view, minds structure certain communicable aspects of the ideas produced, and these communicable aspects generally trigger or elicit ideas in other minds through inference (to relatively rich structures generated from often low-fidelity input) and not high-fidelity replication or imitation.
The leveling-off of all such interesting "memes" down to some neutralized molecular "substance" such as "meme-substance" introduces a bias toward scientism and abandons the very essence of what makes ideas interesting, richly available, and worth studying.[21]
[edit] Applications
Opinions differ as to how best to apply the concept of memes within a "proper" disciplinary framework.
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
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of or pertaining to or characteristic of an orientation that characterizes the thinking of a group or nation
In another experiment, normal subjects and autistic subjects interpreted ideological and religious sayings (for example, "Let a thousand flowers bloom" or "To everything there is a season").
the quality of being unable to exist or work in congenial combination
Some prominent researchers in evolutionary psychology and anthropology, including Scott Atran, Dan Sperber, Pascal Boyer, John Tooby and others, argue the possibility of incompatibility between modularity of mind and memetics.
The meme as a unit provides a convenient means of discussing "a piece of thought copied from person to person", regardless if that thought contains others inside it, or forms part of a larger meme.
John S. Wilkins retained the notion of meme as a kernel of cultural imitation while emphasizing the meme's evolutionary aspect, defining the meme as "the least unit of sociocultural information relative to a selection process that has favourable or unfavourable selection bias that exceeds its endogenous tendency to change."[12]
having one or more incisions reaching nearly to the midrib
While the identification of memes as "units" conveys their nature to replicate as discrete, indivisible entities, it does not imply that thoughts somehow become quantized or that "atomic" ideas exist which cannot be dissected into smaller pieces.
a golf course that is built on sandy ground near a shore
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
To Balkin, whether memes become harmful or maladaptive depends on the environmental context in which they exist rather than in any special source or manner to their origination.
Ideas which encourage longevity in their hosts, or leave their hosts particularly resistant to abandoning or replacing these ideas, enhance the preservability of memes and afford protection from the competition or proselytism of other memes.
5.
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity o...
showing unselfish concern for the welfare of others
* Jan, Steven: The Memetics of Music: A Neo-Darwinian View of Musical Structure and Culture (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007)
* Kelly, Kevin (1994), Out of control: the new biology of machines, social systems and the economic world, Boston: Addison-Wesley, pp. 360, ISBN 0-201-48340-8
* Lynch, Aaron (1996), Thought contagion: how belief spreads through society, New York: BasicBooks, pp. 208, ISBN 0-465-08467-2
* Post, Stephen Garrard; Underwood, Lynn G; Schloss, Jeffrey P Garrard (2002...
occurring among members of a family usually by heredity
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
made neutral in some respect; deprived of distinctive characteristics
The leveling-off of all such interesting "memes" down to some neutralized molecular "substance" such as "meme-substance" introduces a bias toward scientism and abandons the very essence of what makes ideas interesting, richly available, and worth studying.[21]
[edit] Applications
Opinions differ as to how best to apply the concept of memes within a "proper" disciplinary framework.
evaluate or estimate the nature, quality, ability, extent, or significance of
For example, religions that preach of the value of faith-based belief over evidence from everyday experience or reason inoculate societies against many of the most basic tools people commonly use to evaluate their ideas.
agreement in the judgment or opinion reached by a group as a whole
Despite the subjects' own expectations of consensus, interpretations of the commandments showed wide ranges of variation, with little evidence of consensus.
Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catch-phrases, beliefs (notably religious beliefs), clothing fashion, and the technology of building arches.[4]
The leveling-off of all such interesting "memes" down to some neutralized molecular "substance" such as "meme-substance" introduces a bias toward scientism and abandons the very essence of what makes ideas interesting, richly available, and worth studying.[21]
[edit] Applications
Opinions differ as to how best to apply the concept of memes within a "proper" disciplinary framework.
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
similar or equivalent in some respects though otherwise dissimilar
Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success.
consider or describe as similar, equal, or analogous
Dawkins likened the process by which memes survive and change through the evolution of culture to the natural selection of genes in biological evolution.[4]
In contrast, the concept of genetics gained concrete evidence with the discovery of the biological functions of DNA. In the context of the exact sciences, memetics suffers in comparison because, unlike the idea of genes, memes do not necessarily have or need a concrete medium in order to transfer.
[edit] Transmission
Life-forms can transmit information both vertically (from parent to child, via replication of genes) and horizontally (through viruses and other means).
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
* Aunger, Robert (2000), Darwinizing culture: the status of memetics as a science, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-263244-2
* Aunger, Robert (2002), The electric meme: a new theory of how we think, New York: Free Press, ISBN 0-7432-0150-7
* Balkin, J. M. (1998), Cultural software: a theory of ideology, New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-07288-0
* Bloom, Howard S. (1997), The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the For...
Clusters of memes, or memeplexes (also known as meme complexes or as memecomplexes), such as cultural or political doctrines and systems, may also play a part in the acceptance of new memes.
The 1981 book Genes, Mind, and Culture: The Coevolutionary Process by Charles J. Lumsden and E. O. Wilson proposed the theory that genes and culture co-evolve, and that the fundamental biological units of culture must correspond to neuronal networks that function as nodes of semantic memory.
a quality that differentiates between similar things
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity or repli...
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
Hidden categories: Articles that may contain original research from September 2008 | All articles that may contain original research | Articles lacking in-text citations from November 2009 | All articles lacking in-text citations ...
the branch of science that studies society and the relationships of individual within a society
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity o...
having corresponding sounds especially terminal sounds
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
Other examples of the varying degrees of criticism of memetics include the following:
[edit] Lack of philosophical appeal
In his chapter titled "Truth" published in the Encyclopedia of Phenomenology, Dieter Lohmar questions the memeticists' reduction of the highly complex body of ideas (such as religion, politics, war, justice, and science itself) to a putatively one-dimensional series of memes.
(computer science) a system of world-wide electronic communication in which a computer user can compose a message at one terminal that can be regenerated at the recipient's terminal when the recipient logs in
Balkin describes racist beliefs as "fantasy" memes which become harmful or unjust "ideologies" when diverse peoples come together, as through trade or competition.[26]
[edit] Internet culture
Main article: Internet meme
The term "Internet meme" refers to a catchphrase or concept that spreads rapidly from person to person via the Internet, largely through Internet-based email, blogs, forums, Internet-based social networking sites and Internet-based instant messaging.
Children respond particularly receptively to the ideas of their parents, and thus ideas which directly or indirectly encourage a higher birthrate will replicate themselves at a higher rate than those that discourage higher birthrates.
2.
the people in a society considered as a system organized by a characteristic pattern of relationships
* Jan, Steven: The Memetics of Music: A Neo-Darwinian View of Musical Structure and Culture (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007)
* Kelly, Kevin (1994), Out of control: the new biology of machines, social systems and the economic world, Boston: Addison-Wesley, pp. 360, ISBN 0-201-48340-8
* Lynch, Aaron (1996), Thought contagion: how belief spreads through society, New York: BasicBooks, pp. 208, ISBN 0-465-08467-2
* Post, Stephen Garrard; Underwood, Lynn G; Schloss, Jeffrey P Garrar...
In keeping with the thesis that in evolution one can regard organisms simply as suitable "hosts" for reproducing genes, Dawkins argues that one can view people as "hosts" for replicating memes.
an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence
Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catch-phrases, beliefs (notably religious beliefs), clothing fashion, and the technology of building arches.[4]
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
While the identification of memes as "units" conveys their nature to replicate as discrete, indivisible entities, it does not imply that thoughts somehow become quantized or that "atomic" ideas exist which cannot be dissected into smaller pieces.
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
Hidden categories: Articles that may contain original research from September 2008 | All articles that may contain original research | Articles lacking in-text citations from November 2009 | All articles lacking in-text citations ...
* Blackmore, Susan J. (1999), The meme machine, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press (published 1999-04-08), pp. 288, ISBN 0-19-850365-2 [trade paperback ISBN 0-9658817-8-4 (1999), ISBN 0-19-286212-X (2000)]
* Brodie, Richard (1996), Virus of the mind: the new science of the meme, Seattle, Wash: Integral Press, pp. 251, ISBN 0-9636001-1-7
* Dawkins, Richard (2004), A Devil's Chaplain : Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love, Boston: Mariner Books, pp. 263, ISB...
a list of matters to be taken up (as at a meeting)
^ Kelly & 1994 p.360:"But if we consider culture as its own self organizing system,— a system with its own agenda and pressure to survive— then the history of humanity gets even more interesting.
a rapid increase in number (especially a rapid increase in the number of deadly weapons)
The image of the crucifixion recurs in religious sacraments, and the proliferation of symbols of the cross (itself a meme) in homes and churches potently reinforces the wide array of Christian memes.[11]
[edit] Memetic explanations of racism
In Cultural Software: A Theory of Ideology, Jack Balkin argued that memetic processes can explain many of the most familiar features of ideological thought.
a particular course of action intended to achieve a result
Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success.
She notes that while the first four notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony (About this sound listen (help·info)) form a meme widely replicated as an independent unit, one can regard the entire symphony as a single meme as well.[8]
Susan Blackmore writes that melodies from Beethoven's symphonies are commonly used to illustrate the difficulty involved in delimiting memes as discrete units.
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
Hidden categories: Articles that may contain original research from September 2008 | All articles that may contain original research | Articles lacking in-text citations from November 2009 | All articles lacking in-text citations ...
connect, fasten, or put together two or more pieces
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
Hidden categories: Articles that may contain original research from September 2008 | All articles that may contain original research | Articles lacking in-text citations from November 2009 | All articles lacking in-text citations ...
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
Hidden categories: Articles that may contain original research from September 2008 | All articles that may contain original research | Articles lacking in-text citations from November 2009 | All articles lacking in-text citations ...
Cognitively transmitted memes depend heavily on a cluster of other ideas and cognitive traits already widely held in the population, and thus usually spread more passively than other forms of meme transmission.
(sometimes followed by `to') causing harm or injury
Theorists point out that memes which replicate the most effectively spread best, and some memes may replicate effectively even when they prove detrimental to the welfare of their hosts.[5]
additional proof that something that was believed (some fact or hypothesis or theory) is correct
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
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a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts
In their view, minds structure certain communicable aspects of the ideas produced, and these communicable aspects generally trigger or elicit ideas in other minds through inference (to relatively rich structures generated from often low-fidelity input) and not high-fidelity replication or imitation.
derived from experiment and observation rather than theory
Others such as Bruce Edmonds and Robert Aunger have focused on the need to provide an empirical grounding for memetics to become a useful and respected scientific discipline.[22]
reduce to a fine, unmixed, or pure state; separate from extraneous matter or cleanse from impurities
Because humans do not always copy memes perfectly, and because they may refine, combine or otherwise modify them with other memes to create new memes, they can change over time.
one who disparages or belittles the worth of something
Memetics thus remains a theory in its infancy, a protoscience to proponents, or a pseudoscience to some detractors[who?].
[edit] Criticism of meme theory
An objection to the study of the evolution of memes in genetic terms (although not to the existence of memes) involves the fact that the cumulative evolution of genes depends on biological selection-pressures neither too great nor too small in relation to mutation-rates.
a shared on-line journal where people can post diary entries about their personal experiences and hobbies
Balkin describes racist beliefs as "fantasy" memes which become harmful or unjust "ideologies" when diverse peoples come together, as through trade or competition.[26]
[edit] Internet culture
Main article: Internet meme
The term "Internet meme" refers to a catchphrase or concept that spreads rapidly from person to person via the Internet, largely through Internet-based email, blogs, forums, Internet-based social networking sites and Internet-based instant messaging.
someone (especially a child) who learns (as from a teacher) or takes up knowledge or beliefs
Take for example the case of the transmission of a simple skill such as hammering a nail, a skill which a learner imitates from watching a demonstration without necessarily imitating every discrete movement modeled by the teacher in the demonstration, stroke for stroke.[15]
Strictly speaking, motivationally transmitted memes do not self-propagate, but this mode of transmission often occurs in association with memes self-replicated in the efficiency parental, proselytic and preservational modes.
A third approach, described[by whom?] as "radical memetics", seeks to place memes at the centre of a materialistic theory of mind and of personal identity.[23]
a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence
Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catch-phrases, beliefs (notably religious beliefs), clothing fashion, and the technology of building arches.[4]
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
Because humans do not always copy memes perfectly, and because they may refine, combine or otherwise modify them with other memes to create new memes, they can change over time.
a press not restricted or controlled by government censorship regarding politics or ideology
* Aunger, Robert (2000), Darwinizing culture: the status of memetics as a science, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-263244-2
* Aunger, Robert (2002), The electric meme: a new theory of how we think, New York: Free Press, ISBN 0-7432-0150-7
* Balkin, J. M. (1998), Cultural software: a theory of ideology, New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-07288-0
* Bloom, Howard S. (1997), The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the For...
Strictly speaking, motivationally transmitted memes do not self-propagate, but this mode of transmission often occurs in association with memes self-replicated in the efficiency parental, proselytic and preservational modes.
Lynch asserts that belief in the crucifixion in Christianity amplifies each of its other replication advantages through the indebtedness believers have to their Savior for sacrifice on the cross.
Memetics thus remains a theory in its infancy, a protoscience to proponents, or a pseudoscience to some detractors[who?].
[edit] Criticism of meme theory
An objection to the study of the evolution of memes in genetic terms (although not to the existence of memes) involves the fact that the cumulative evolution of genes depends on biological selection-pressures neither too great nor too small in relation to mutation-rates.
By linking altruism with religious affiliation, religious memes can proliferate more quickly because people perceive that they can reap societal as well as personal rewards.
a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation
John S. Wilkins retained the notion of meme as a kernel of cultural imitation while emphasizing the meme's evolutionary aspect, defining the meme as "the least unit of sociocultural information relative to a selection process that has favourable or unfavourable selection bias that exceeds its endogenous tendency to change."[12]
an open fabric of string or rope or wire woven together at regular intervals
The 1981 book Genes, Mind, and Culture: The Coevolutionary Process by Charles J. Lumsden and E. O. Wilson proposed the theory that genes and culture co-evolve, and that the fundamental biological units of culture must correspond to neuronal networks that function as nodes of semantic memory.
Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success.
Lynch asserts that belief in the crucifixion in Christianity amplifies each of its other replication advantages through the indebtedness believers have to their Savior for sacrifice on the cross.
any state or process known through the senses rather than by intuition or reasoning
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 368, ISBN 0192177737
* Dennett, Daniel C. (2006), Breaking the Spell, Viking (Penguin), ISBN 0-670-03472-X
* Dennett, Daniel (1991), Consciousness Explained, Boston: Little, Brown and Co., ISBN 0316180653
* Distin, Kate (2005), The selfish meme: a critical reassessment, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 238, ISBN 0-521-60627-6
* Farnish, Keith, "Time's Up! An Uncivilized Solution To A Global Crisis", Totnes: Green Books, p...
German composer of instrumental music (especially symphonic and chamber music); continued to compose after he lost his hearing (1770-1827)
Susan Blackmore writes that melodies from Beethoven's symphonies are commonly used to illustrate the difficulty involved in delimiting memes as discrete units.
the act of giving special importance or significance to something
John S. Wilkins retained the notion of meme as a kernel of cultural imitation while emphasizing the meme's evolutionary aspect, defining the meme as "the least unit of sociocultural information relative to a selection process that has favourable or unfavourable selection bias that exceeds its endogenous tendency to change."[12]
Without such an explanation memes (seen in such terms) find themselves without reason, limited to cover all but science and memetics itself.[citation needed] Others have countered that meme-perspectives do not exclude talk of meaning, truth, or falsity as relevant.[25]
[edit] Religion
See also: Evolutionary psychology of religion
Although evolutionists[who?] had previously[when?] sought to understand and explain religion in terms of a cultural attribute which might conceivably confer...
Without such an explanation memes (seen in such terms) find themselves without reason, limited to cover all but science and memetics itself.[citation needed] Others have countered that meme-perspectives do not exclude talk of meaning, truth, or falsity as relevant.[25]
[edit] Religion
See also: Evolutionary psychology of religion
Although evolutionists[who?] had previously[when?] sought to understand and explain religion in terms of a cultural attribute which might conceivably confer...
Autistics showed a significant tendency to closely paraphrase and repeat content from the original statement (for example: "Don't cut flowers before they bloom").
(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
* Aunger, Robert (2000), Darwinizing culture: the status of memetics as a science, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-263244-2
* Aunger, Robert (2002), The electric meme: a new theory of how we think, New York: Free Press, ISBN 0-7432-0150-7
* Balkin, J. M. (1998), Cultural software: a theory of ideology, New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-07288-0
* Bloom, Howard S. (1997), The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the For...
Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success.
lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of
An evolutionary psychology perspective on why and how cult memes get a drug-like hold on people, and what might be done to mitigate the effects", The Human Nature Review 2002 Volume 2: 343-355
* Heylighen, Francis; Chielens, K. (2009), "Evolution of Culture, Memetics", in Meyers, B., Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science, Springer, http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Papers/Memetics-Springer.pdf
Take for example the case of the transmission of a simple skill such as hammering a nail, a skill which a learner imitates from watching a demonstration without necessarily imitating every discrete movement modeled by the teacher in the demonstration, stroke for stroke.[15]
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
Hidden categories: Articles that may contain original research from September 2008 | All articles that may contain original research | Articles lacking in-text citations from November 2009 | All articles lacking in-text citations ...
(virology) ultramicroscopic infectious agent that replicates itself only within cells of living hosts; many are pathogenic; a piece of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) wrapped in a thin coat of protein
In contrast, the concept of genetics gained concrete evidence with the discovery of the biological functions of DNA. In the context of the exact sciences, memetics suffers in comparison because, unlike the idea of genes, memes do not necessarily have or need a concrete medium in order to transfer.
[edit] Transmission
Life-forms can transmit information both vertically (from parent to child, via replication of genes) and horizontally (through viruses and other means).
the act of affirming or asserting or stating something
Autistics showed a significant tendency to closely paraphrase and repeat content from the original statement (for example: "Don't cut flowers before they bloom").
the reasoning involved in drawing a conclusion or making a logical judgment on the basis of circumstantial evidence and prior conclusions rather than on the basis of direct observation
Cultural memes will have the characteristic of Lamarckian inheritance when a host aspires to replicate the given meme through inference rather than by exactly copying it.
^ Kelly & 1994 p.360:"But if we consider culture as its own self organizing system,— a system with its own agenda and pressure to survive— then the history of humanity gets even more interesting.
the act of explaining; making something plain or intelligible
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
Dawkins noted that as various ideas pass from one generation to the next, they may either enhance or detract from the survival of the people who obtain those ideas, or influence the survival of the ideas themselves.
a teacher and prophet born in Bethlehem and active in Nazareth; his life and sermons form the basis for Christianity (circa 4 BC - AD 29)
Lynch asserts that belief in the crucifixion in Christianity amplifies each of its other replication advantages through the indebtedness believers have to their Savior for sacrifice on the cross.
American Revolutionary leader who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence (1742-1798)
The 1981 book Genes, Mind, and Culture: The Coevolutionary Process by Charles J. Lumsden and E. O. Wilson proposed the theory that genes and culture co-evolve, and that the fundamental biological units of culture must correspond to neuronal networks that function as nodes of semantic memory.
disposed to or engaged in defiance of established authority
Ideas which encourage longevity in their hosts, or leave their hosts particularly resistant to abandoning or replacing these ideas, enhance the preservability of memes and afford protection from the competition or proselytism of other memes.
5.
(sports) the chief official (as in boxing or American football) who is expected to ensure fair play
* Journal of Memetics, a peer-refereed journal of memetics published from 1997 until 2005
* Susan Blackmore: Memes and "temes", TED Talks February 2008
Meme theory commonly cites memes grouped in memeplexes of religion as examples.[16]
[edit] Memetics
Main article: Memetics
The discipline of memetics, which dates from the mid 1980s, provides an approach to evolutionary models of cultural information transfer based on the concept of the meme.
Because humans do not always copy memes perfectly, and because they may refine, combine or otherwise modify them with other memes to create new memes, they can change over time.
compete for something; engage in a contest; measure oneself against others
Cultural separatism exemplifies one practice in which one can expect a higher rate of meme-replication — because the meme for separation creates a barrier from exposure to competing ideas.
3.
To emphasize commonality with genes, Dawkins coined the term "meme" by shortening "mimeme", which derives from the Greek word mimema ("something imitated").[1]
any factor that could be considered important to the understanding of a particular business
The 1981 book Genes, Mind, and Culture: The Coevolutionary Process by Charles J. Lumsden and E. O. Wilson proposed the theory that genes and culture co-evolve, and that the fundamental biological units of culture must correspond to neuronal networks that function as nodes of semantic memory.
Theorists point out that memes which replicate the most effectively spread best, and some memes may replicate effectively even when they prove detrimental to the welfare of their hosts.[5]
violent or severe weather (viewed as caused by the action of the four elements)
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity o...
While the identification of memes as "units" conveys their nature to replicate as discrete, indivisible entities, it does not imply that thoughts somehow become quantized or that "atomic" ideas exist which cannot be dissected into smaller pieces.
conforming with the principles or methods used in science
Memetics attempts to apply conventional scientific methods (such as those used in population genetics and epidemiology) to explain existing patterns and transmission of cultural ideas.
performing or able to perform its regular function
Only the autistic subjects—who lack the degree of inferential capacity normally associated with aspects of theory of mind—came close to functioning as "meme machines".[24]
Principal criticisms[which?] of memetics include the claim that memetics ignores established advances in other fields of cultural study, such as sociology, cultural anthropology, cognitive psychology, and social psychology.
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
Hidden categories: Articles that may contain original research from September 2008 | All articles that may contain original research | Articles lacking in-text citations from November 2009 | All articles lacking in-text citations ...
To emphasize commonality with genes, Dawkins coined the term "meme" by shortening "mimeme", which derives from the Greek word mimema ("something imitated").[1]
While the identification of memes as "units" conveys their nature to replicate as discrete, indivisible entities, it does not imply that thoughts somehow become quantized or that "atomic" ideas exist which cannot be dissected into smaller pieces.
existing as an essential constituent or characteristic
* Blackmore, Susan J. (1999), The meme machine, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press (published 1999-04-08), pp. 288, ISBN 0-19-850365-2 [trade paperback ISBN 0-9658817-8-4 (1999), ISBN 0-19-286212-X (2000)]
* Brodie, Richard (1996), Virus of the mind: the new science of the meme, Seattle, Wash: Integral Press, pp. 251, ISBN 0-9636001-1-7
* Dawkins, Richard (2004), A Devil's Chaplain : Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love, Boston: Mariner Books, pp. 263, ISB...
United States film actress who retired when she married into the royal family of Monaco (1928-1982)
^ Kelly & 1994 p.360:"But if we consider culture as its own self organizing system,— a system with its own agenda and pressure to survive— then the history of humanity gets even more interesting.
John S. Wilkins retained the notion of meme as a kernel of cultural imitation while emphasizing the meme's evolutionary aspect, defining the meme as "the least unit of sociocultural information relative to a selection process that has favourable or unfavourable selection bias that exceeds its endogenous tendency to change."[12]
To emphasize commonality with genes, Dawkins coined the term "meme" by shortening "mimeme", which derives from the Greek word mimema ("something imitated").[1]
any process serving to define the shape of something
John S. Wilkins retained the notion of meme as a kernel of cultural imitation while emphasizing the meme's evolutionary aspect, defining the meme as "the least unit of sociocultural information relative to a selection process that has favourable or unfavourable selection bias that exceeds its endogenous tendency to change."[12]
Susan Blackmore writes that melodies from Beethoven's symphonies are commonly used to illustrate the difficulty involved in delimiting memes as discrete units.
short-legged flightless birds of cold southern especially Antarctic regions having webbed feet and wings modified as flippers
Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 368, ISBN 0192177737
* Dennett, Daniel C. (2006), Breaking the Spell, Viking (Penguin), ISBN 0-670-03472-X
* Dennett, Daniel (1991), Consciousness Explained, Boston: Little, Brown and Co., ISBN 0316180653
* Distin, Kate (2005), The selfish meme: a critical reassessment, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 238, ISBN 0-521-60627-6
* Farnish, Keith, "Time's Up! An Uncivilized Solution To A Global Crisis", Totnes: Green B...
having a bearing on or connection with the subject at issue
Without such an explanation memes (seen in such terms) find themselves without reason, limited to cover all but science and memetics itself.[citation needed] Others have countered that meme-perspectives do not exclude talk of meaning, truth, or falsity as relevant.[25]
[edit] Religion
See also: Evolutionary psychology of religion
Although evolutionists[who?] had previously[when?] sought to understand and explain religion in terms of a cultural attribute which might conceivably confer...
an Old Testament book that tells of the apocalyptic visions and the experiences of Daniel in the court of Nebuchadnezzar
Proponents of this view (such as Susan Blackmore and Daniel Dennett) argue that considering cultural developments from a meme's-eye view—as if memes themselves respond to pressure to maximise their own replication and survival—can lead to useful insights and yield valuable predictions into how culture develops over time.
Cognitively transmitted memes depend heavily on a cluster of other ideas and cognitive traits already widely held in the population, and thus usually spread more passively than other forms of meme transmission.
any of the more than 100 known substances (of which 92 occur naturally) that cannot be separated into simpler substances and that singly or in combination constitute all matter
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity o...
In their book Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath describe characteristics of an idea that make it "sticky" (i.e. memorable or interesting).
[edit] Memes as discrete units
Richard Dawkins initially defined meme as a noun which "conveys the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation".[4]
(biology) a scientist who studies living organisms
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
a power to affect persons or events especially power based on prestige etc
Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success.
correspondence in the sounds of two or more lines (especially final sounds)
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
physical objects consisting of a number of pages bound together
Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catch-phrases, beliefs (notably religious beliefs), clothing fashion, and the technology of building arches.[4]
While the identification of memes as "units" conveys their nature to replicate as discrete, indivisible entities, it does not imply that thoughts somehow become quantized or that "atomic" ideas exist which cannot be dissected into smaller pieces.
Researchers have observed memetic copying in just a few species on Earth, including hominids, dolphins and birds (which learn how to sing by imitating their parents or neighbors).[9]
a content word that can be used to refer to a person, place, thing, quality, or action
In their book Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath describe characteristics of an idea that make it "sticky" (i.e. memorable or interesting).
[edit] Memes as discrete units
Richard Dawkins initially defined meme as a noun which "conveys the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation".[4]
French mathematician and philosopher and Jansenist; invented an adding machine; contributed (with Fermat) to the theory of probability (1623-1662)
Some prominent researchers in evolutionary psychology and anthropology, including Scott Atran, Dan Sperber, Pascal Boyer, John Tooby and others, argue the possibility of incompatibility between modularity of mind and memetics.
In another experiment, normal subjects and autistic subjects interpreted ideological and religious sayings (for example, "Let a thousand flowers bloom" or "To everything there is a season").
the act of pounding (delivering repeated heavy blows)
Take for example the case of the transmission of a simple skill such as hammering a nail, a skill which a learner imitates from watching a demonstration without necessarily imitating every discrete movement modeled by the teacher in the demonstration, stroke for stroke.[15]
one side of one leaf (of a book or magazine or newspaper or letter etc.) or the written or pictorial matter it contains
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
Hidden categories: Articles that may contain original research from September 2008 | All articles that may contain original research | Articles lacking in-text citations from November 2009 | All articles lacking in-text citations ...
* Jan, Steven: The Memetics of Music: A Neo-Darwinian View of Musical Structure and Culture (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007)
* Kelly, Kevin (1994), Out of control: the new biology of machines, social systems and the economic world, Boston: Addison-Wesley, pp. 360, ISBN 0-201-48340-8
* Lynch, Aaron (1996), Thought contagion: how belief spreads through society, New York: BasicBooks, pp. 208, ISBN 0-465-08467-2
* Post, Stephen Garrard; Underwood, Lynn G; Schloss, Jeffrey P Garrar...
Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success.
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
completely unordered and unpredictable and confusing
As factual criticism, he refers to the lack of a code script for memes, as the DNA is for genes, and to the fact that the meme mutation mechanism (i.e., an idea going from one brain to another) is too unstable (low replication accuracy and high mutation rate), which would render the evolutionary process chaotic.[18]
Cognitively transmitted memes depend heavily on a cluster of other ideas and cognitive traits already widely held in the population, and thus usually spread more passively than other forms of meme transmission.
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
Hidden categories: Articles that may contain original research from September 2008 | All articles that may contain original research | Articles lacking in-text citations from November 2009 | All articles lacking in-text cit...
the month following October and preceding December
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
Hidden categories: Articles that may contain original research from September 2008 | All articles that may contain original research | Articles lacking in-text citations from November 2009 | All articles lacking in-text cit...
In their view, minds structure certain communicable aspects of the ideas produced, and these communicable aspects generally trigger or elicit ideas in other minds through inference (to relatively rich structures generated from often low-fidelity input) and not high-fidelity replication or imitation.
As factual criticism, he refers to the lack of a code script for memes, as the DNA is for genes, and to the fact that the meme mutation mechanism (i.e., an idea going from one brain to another) is too unstable (low replication accuracy and high mutation rate), which would render the evolutionary process chaotic.[18]
Imitation often involves the copying of an observed behaviour of another individual, but memes may transmit from one individual to another through a copy recorded in an inanimate source, such as a book or a musical score.
living together or enjoying life in communities or organized groups
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
Hidden categories: Articles that may contain original research from September 2008 | All articles that may contain original research | Articles lacking in-text citations from November 2009 | All articles lacking in-text citations ...
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity o...
capable of being perceived by the senses; not abstract or imaginary
In contrast, the concept of genetics gained concrete evidence with the discovery of the biological functions of DNA. In the context of the exact sciences, memetics suffers in comparison because, unlike the idea of genes, memes do not necessarily have or need a concrete medium in order to transfer.
[edit] Transmission
Life-forms can transmit information both vertically (from parent to child, via replication of genes) and horizontally (through viruses and other means).
state capital and largest city of Massachusetts; a major center for banking and financial services
* Aunger, Robert (2000), Darwinizing culture: the status of memetics as a science, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-263244-2
* Aunger, Robert (2002), The electric meme: a new theory of how we think, New York: Free Press, ISBN 0-7432-0150-7
* Balkin, J. M. (1998), Cultural software: a theory of ideology, New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-07288-0
* Bloom, Howard S. (1997), The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of ...
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
John S. Wilkins retained the notion of meme as a kernel of cultural imitation while emphasizing the meme's evolutionary aspect, defining the meme as "the least unit of sociocultural information relative to a selection process that has favourable or unfavourable selection bias that exceeds its endogenous tendency to change."[12]
Meme theory commonly cites memes grouped in memeplexes of religion as examples.[16]
[edit] Memetics
Main article: Memetics
The discipline of memetics, which dates from the mid 1980s, provides an approach to evolutionary models of cultural information transfer based on the concept of the meme.
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
In their book Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath describe characteristics of an idea that make it "sticky" (i.e. memorable or interesting).
[edit] Memes as discrete units
Richard Dawkins initially defined meme as a noun which "conveys the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation".[4]
Clusters of memes, or memeplexes (also known as meme complexes or as memecomplexes), such as cultural or political doctrines and systems, may also play a part in the acceptance of new memes.
the biological process whereby genetic factors are transmitted from one generation to the next
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity o...
The image of the crucifixion recurs in religious sacraments, and the proliferation of symbols of the cross (itself a meme) in homes and churches potently reinforces the wide array of Christian memes.[11]
[edit] Memetic explanations of racism
In Cultural Software: A Theory of Ideology, Jack Balkin argued that memetic processes can explain many of the most familiar features of ideological thought.
preceding all others in time or being as first made or performed
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translatable as...
John S. Wilkins retained the notion of meme as a kernel of cultural imitation while emphasizing the meme's evolutionary aspect, defining the meme as "the least unit of sociocultural information relative to a selection process that has favourable or unfavourable selection bias that exceeds its endogenous tendency to change."[12]
a group of independent but interrelated elements comprising a unified whole
Clusters of memes, or memeplexes (also known as meme complexes or as memecomplexes), such as cultural or political doctrines and systems, may also play a part in the acceptance of new memes.
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
Hidden categories: Articles that may contain original research from September 2008 | All articles that may contain original research | Articles lacking in-text citations from November 2009 | All articles lacking in-text citations ...
king of Scotland from 1306 to 1329; defeated the English army under Edward II at Bannockburn and gained recognition of Scottish independence (1274-1329)
Others such as Bruce Edmonds and Robert Aunger have focused on the need to provide an empirical grounding for memetics to become a useful and respected scientific discipline.[22]
an involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth; usually triggered by fatigue or boredom
Observers distinguish the contagious imitation of memes from instinctively contagious phenomena such as yawning and laughing, which they consider innate (rather than socially learned) behaviors.[9]
any of the Scandinavian people who raided the coasts of Europe from the 8th to the 11th centuries
Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 368, ISBN 0192177737
* Dennett, Daniel C. (2006), Breaking the Spell, Viking (Penguin), ISBN 0-670-03472-X
* Dennett, Daniel (1991), Consciousness Explained, Boston: Little, Brown and Co., ISBN 0316180653
* Distin, Kate (2005), The selfish meme: a critical reassessment, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 238, ISBN 0-521-60627-6
* Farnish, Keith, "Time's Up! An Uncivilized Solution To A Global Crisis", Totnes: Green B...
Some denominations' promise of heaven to believers and threat of hell to non-believers provide a strong incentive for members to retain their belief (though not for nonbelievers to adopt it, as that promise and threat are among the tenets that they do not find credible in the first place[citation needed]).
thorny Eurasian shrub of small tree having dense clusters of white to scarlet flowers followed by deep red berries; established as an escape in eastern North America
Memes that propagate less prolifically may become extinct, while others may survive, spread, and (for better or for worse) mutate.
Children respond particularly receptively to the ideas of their parents, and thus ideas which directly or indirectly encourage a higher birthrate will replicate themselves at a higher rate than those that discourage higher birthrates.
2.
Other examples of the varying degrees of criticism of memetics include the following:
[edit] Lack of philosophical appeal
In his chapter titled "Truth" published in the Encyclopedia of Phenomenology, Dieter Lohmar questions the memeticists' reduction of the highly complex body of ideas (such as religion, politics, war, justice, and science itself) to a putatively one-dimensional series of memes.
declaration of an intention or a determination to inflict harm on another
Luis Benitez-Bribiesca M.D., a critic of memetics, calls it "a pseudoscientific dogma" and "a dangerous idea that poses a threat to the serious study of conciousness and cultural evolution" among other things.
satisfied or showing satisfaction with things as they are
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Origins and concepts
* 2 Transmission
* 3 Memes as discrete units
* 4 Evolutionary influences on memes
* 5 Memetics
* 6 Criticism of meme theory
o 6.1
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
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a religious doctrine that is proclaimed as true without proof
Some denominations' promise of heaven to believers and threat of hell to non-believers provide a strong incentive for members to retain their belief (though not for nonbelievers to adopt it, as that promise and threat are among the tenets that they do not find credible in the first place[citation needed]).
the act of furnishing an equivalent person or thing in the place of another
Ideas which encourage longevity in their hosts, or leave their hosts particularly resistant to abandoning or replacing these ideas, enhance the preservability of memes and afford protection from the competition or proselytism of other memes.
5.
any of various small toothed whales with a beaklike snout; larger than porpoises
Researchers have observed memetic copying in just a few species on Earth, including hominids, dolphins and birds (which learn how to sing by imitating their parents or neighbors).[9]
Meme theory commonly cites memes grouped in memeplexes of religion as examples.[16]
[edit] Memetics
Main article: Memetics
The discipline of memetics, which dates from the mid 1980s, provides an approach to evolutionary models of cultural information transfer based on the concept of the meme.
Cognitively transmitted memes depend heavily on a cluster of other ideas and cognitive traits already widely held in the population, and thus usually spread more passively than other forms of meme transmission.
Blackmore meets such criticism by stating that memes compare with genes in this respect: that while a gene has no particular size, nor can we ascribe every phenotypic feature directly to a particular gene, it has value because it encapsulates that key unit of inherited expression subject to evolutionary pressures.
The British scientist Richard Dawkins introduced the word "meme" in The Selfish Gene (1976) as a basis for discussion of evolutionary principles in explaining the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena.
In their view, minds structure certain communicable aspects of the ideas produced, and these communicable aspects generally trigger or elicit ideas in other minds through inference (to relatively rich structures generated from often low-fidelity input) and not high-fidelity replication or imitation.
Other examples of the varying degrees of criticism of memetics include the following:
[edit] Lack of philosophical appeal
In his chapter titled "Truth" published in the Encyclopedia of Phenomenology, Dieter Lohmar questions the memeticists' reduction of the highly complex body of ideas (such as religion, politics, war, justice, and science itself) to a putatively one-dimensional series of memes.
a republic in southeastern Asia on an archipelago including more than 13,000 islands; achieved independence from the Netherlands in 1945; the principal oil producer in the Far East and Pacific regions
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the actions and activities assigned to or required or expected of a person or group
To illustrate, she notes evolution selects for the gene for features such as eye color; it does not select for the individual nucleotide in a strand of DNA. Memes play a comparable role in understanding the evolution of imitated behaviors.[8]
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Only the autistic subjects—who lack the degree of inferential capacity normally associated with aspects of theory of mind—came close to functioning as "meme machines".[24]
(often used in combination) having or using or propelled by means of power or power of a specified kind
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In their book Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath describe characteristics of an idea that make it "sticky" (i.e. memorable or interesting).
[edit] Memes as discrete units
Richard Dawkins initially defined meme as a noun which "conveys the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation".[4]
the abstract separation of a whole into its constituent parts in order to study the parts and their relations
Without such an explanation memes (seen in such terms) find themselves without reason, limited to cover all but science and memetics itself.[citation needed] Others have countered that meme-perspectives do not exclude talk of meaning, truth, or falsity as relevant.[25]
[edit] Religion
See also: Evolutionary psychology of religion
Although evolutionists[who?] had previously[when?] sought to understand and explain religion in terms of a cultural attribute which might conceivably confer biolog...
Observers distinguish the contagious imitation of memes from instinctively contagious phenomena such as yawning and laughing, which they consider innate (rather than socially learned) behaviors.[9]
Dawkins wrote that evolution depended not on the particular chemical basis of genetics, but only on the existence of a self-replicating unit of transmission – in the case of biological evolution, the gene.
a city in eastern England on the River Cam; site of Cambridge University
Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 368, ISBN 0192177737
* Dennett, Daniel C. (2006), Breaking the Spell, Viking (Penguin), ISBN 0-670-03472-X
* Dennett, Daniel (1991), Consciousness Explained, Boston: Little, Brown and Co., ISBN 0316180653
* Distin, Kate (2005), The selfish meme: a critical reassessment, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 238, ISBN 0-521-60627-6
* Farnish, Keith, "Time's Up! An Uncivilized Solution To A Global Crisis", Totnes: Green B...
an unproved statement put forward as a premise in an argument
In keeping with the thesis that in evolution one can regard organisms simply as suitable "hosts" for reproducing genes, Dawkins argues that one can view people as "hosts" for replicating memes.
British author of historical novels and ballads (1771-1832)
Some prominent researchers in evolutionary psychology and anthropology, including Scott Atran, Dan Sperber, Pascal Boyer, John Tooby and others, argue the possibility of incompatibility between modularity of mind and memetics.
rigidly accurate; allowing no deviation from a standard
The lack of a consistent, rigorous, and precise understanding of what typically makes up one unit of cultural transmission remains a problem in debates about memetics.[8]
relating to or characteristic of or befitting a parent
Strictly speaking, motivationally transmitted memes do not self-propagate, but this mode of transmission often occurs in association with memes self-replicated in the efficiency parental, proselytic and preservational modes.
Cultural memes will have the characteristic of Lamarckian inheritance when a host aspires to replicate the given meme through inference rather than by exactly copying it.
Meme theory commonly cites memes grouped in memeplexes of religion as examples.[16]
[edit] Memetics
Main article: Memetics
The discipline of memetics, which dates from the mid 1980s, provides an approach to evolutionary models of cultural information transfer based on the concept of the meme.
present at birth but not necessarily hereditary; acquired during fetal development
Observers distinguish the contagious imitation of memes from instinctively contagious phenomena such as yawning and laughing, which they consider innate (rather than socially learned) behaviors.[9]
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity or repli...
Children respond particularly receptively to the ideas of their parents, and thus ideas which directly or indirectly encourage a higher birthrate will replicate themselves at a higher rate than those that discourage higher birthrates.
2.
English clergyman and founder of Methodism (1703-1791)
* Jan, Steven: The Memetics of Music: A Neo-Darwinian View of Musical Structure and Culture (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007)
* Kelly, Kevin (1994), Out of control: the new biology of machines, social systems and the economic world, Boston: Addison-Wesley, pp. 360, ISBN 0-201-48340-8
* Lynch, Aaron (1996), Thought contagion: how belief spreads through society, New York: BasicBooks, pp. 208, ISBN 0-465-08467-2
* Post, Stephen Garrard; Underwood, Lynn G; Schloss, Jeffrey P Garrar...
the place where something begins, where it springs into being
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Origins and concepts
* 2 Transmission
* 3 Memes as discrete units
* 4 Evolutionary influences on memes
* 5 Memetics
* 6 Criticism of meme theory
o 6.1
Meme theory commonly cites memes grouped in memeplexes of religion as examples.[16]
[edit] Memetics
Main article: Memetics
The discipline of memetics, which dates from the mid 1980s, provides an approach to evolutionary models of cultural information transfer based on the concept of the meme.
any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of human tasks
Only the autistic subjects—who lack the degree of inferential capacity normally associated with aspects of theory of mind—came close to functioning as "meme machines".[24]
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
* Journal of Memetics, a peer-refereed journal of memetics published from 1997 until 2005
* Susan Blackmore: Memes and "temes", TED Talks February 2008
an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of an entity
Without such an explanation memes (seen in such terms) find themselves without reason, limited to cover all but science and memetics itself.[citation needed] Others have countered that meme-perspectives do not exclude talk of meaning, truth, or falsity as relevant.[25]
[edit] Religion
See also: Evolutionary psychology of religion
Although evolutionists[who?] had previously[when?] sought to understand and explain religion in terms of a cultural attribute which might conceivably confer...
While the identification of memes as "units" conveys their nature to replicate as discrete, indivisible entities, it does not imply that thoughts somehow become quantized or that "atomic" ideas exist which cannot be dissected into smaller pieces.
An evolutionary psychology perspective on why and how cult memes get a drug-like hold on people, and what might be done to mitigate the effects", The Human Nature Review 2002 Volume 2: 343-355
* Heylighen, Francis; Chielens, K. (2009), "Evolution of Culture, Memetics", in Meyers, B., Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science, Springer, http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Papers/Memetics-Springer.pdf
The British scientist Richard Dawkins introduced the word "meme" in The Selfish Gene (1976) as a basis for discussion of evolutionary principles in explaining the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena.
The lack of a consistent, rigorous, and precise understanding of what typically makes up one unit of cultural transmission remains a problem in debates about memetics.[8]
To illustrate, she notes evolution selects for the gene for features such as eye color; it does not select for the individual nucleotide in a strand of DNA. Memes play a comparable role in understanding the evolution of imitated behaviors.[8]
a show or display; the act of presenting something to sight or view
Take for example the case of the transmission of a simple skill such as hammering a nail, a skill which a learner imitates from watching a demonstration without necessarily imitating every discrete movement modeled by the teacher in the demonstration, stroke for stroke.[15]
Toward a theory of metasystem transitions, (Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, New York) (special issue of World Futures: the journal of general evolution, vol. 45, p. 155-171).
put into service; make work or employ for a particular purpose or for its inherent or natural purpose
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity or repli...
The leveling-off of all such interesting "memes" down to some neutralized molecular "substance" such as "meme-substance" introduces a bias toward scientism and abandons the very essence of what makes ideas interesting, richly available, and worth studying.[21]
[edit] Applications
Opinions differ as to how best to apply the concept of memes within a "proper" disciplinary framework.
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity or repli...
Balkin describes racist beliefs as "fantasy" memes which become harmful or unjust "ideologies" when diverse peoples come together, as through trade or competition.[26]
[edit] Internet culture
Main article: Internet meme
The term "Internet meme" refers to a catchphrase or concept that spreads rapidly from person to person via the Internet, largely through Internet-based email, blogs, forums, Internet-based social networking sites and Internet-based instant messaging.
Others such as Bruce Edmonds and Robert Aunger have focused on the need to provide an empirical grounding for memetics to become a useful and respected scientific discipline.[22]
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
Other examples of the varying degrees of criticism of memetics include the following:
[edit] Lack of philosophical appeal
In his chapter titled "Truth" published in the Encyclopedia of Phenomenology, Dieter Lohmar questions the memeticists' reduction of the highly complex body of ideas (such as religion, politics, war, justice, and science itself) to a putatively one-dimensional series of memes.
complicated in structure; consisting of interconnected parts
Clusters of memes, or memeplexes (also known as meme complexes or as memecomplexes), such as cultural or political doctrines and systems, may also play a part in the acceptance of new memes.
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity or repli...
For example, religions that preach of the value of faith-based belief over evidence from everyday experience or reason inoculate societies against many of the most basic tools people commonly use to evaluate their ideas.
the cognitive condition of someone who understands
The lack of a consistent, rigorous, and precise understanding of what typically makes up one unit of cultural transmission remains a problem in debates about memetics.[8]
a grand and imposing entrance (often extended metaphorically)
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happening or arising or located outside or beyond some limits or especially surface
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
Meme theory commonly cites memes grouped in memeplexes of religion as examples.[16]
[edit] Memetics
Main article: Memetics
The discipline of memetics, which dates from the mid 1980s, provides an approach to evolutionary models of cultural information transfer based on the concept of the meme.
identifying word or words by which someone or something is called and classified or distinguished from others
Some denominations' promise of heaven to believers and threat of hell to non-believers provide a strong incentive for members to retain their belief (though not for nonbelievers to adopt it, as that promise and threat are among the tenets that they do not find credible in the first place[citation needed]).
become different in some particular way, without permanently losing one's or its former characteristics or essence
Because humans do not always copy memes perfectly, and because they may refine, combine or otherwise modify them with other memes to create new memes, they can change over time.
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
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In keeping with the thesis that in evolution one can regard organisms simply as suitable "hosts" for reproducing genes, Dawkins argues that one can view people as "hosts" for replicating memes.
Without such an explanation memes (seen in such terms) find themselves without reason, limited to cover all but science and memetics itself.[citation needed] Others have countered that meme-perspectives do not exclude talk of meaning, truth, or falsity as relevant.[25]
[edit] Religion
See also: Evolutionary psychology of religion
Although evolutionists[who?] had previously[when?] sought to understand and explain religion in terms of a cultural attribute which might conceivably confer biolog...
an industrial center and the nominal capital of the Netherlands; center of the diamond-cutting industry; seat of an important stock exchange; known for its canals and art museum
Controls tended to infer a wider range of cultural meanings with little replicated content (for example: "Go with the flow" or "Everyone should have equal opportunity").
a calculator that keeps a record of the number of times something happens
Without such an explanation memes (seen in such terms) find themselves without reason, limited to cover all but science and memetics itself.[citation needed] Others have countered that meme-perspectives do not exclude talk of meaning, truth, or falsity as relevant.[25]
[edit] Religion
See also: Evolutionary psychology of religion
Although evolutionists[who?] had previously[when?] sought to understand and explain religion in terms of a cultural attribute which might conceivably confer...
that which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
Strictly speaking, motivationally transmitted memes do not self-propagate, but this mode of transmission often occurs in association with memes self-replicated in the efficiency parental, proselytic and preservational modes.
present for consideration, examination, criticism, etc.
The 1981 book Genes, Mind, and Culture: The Coevolutionary Process by Charles J. Lumsden and E. O. Wilson proposed the theory that genes and culture co-evolve, and that the fundamental biological units of culture must correspond to neuronal networks that function as nodes of semantic memory.
Children respond particularly receptively to the ideas of their parents, and thus ideas which directly or indirectly encourage a higher birthrate will replicate themselves at a higher rate than those that discourage higher birthrates.
2.
being or characteristic of a single thing or person
Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success.
the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
Some denominations' promise of heaven to believers and threat of hell to non-believers provide a strong incentive for members to retain their belief (though not for nonbelievers to adopt it, as that promise and threat are among the tenets that they do not find credible in the first place[citation needed]).
something visible that by association or convention represents something else that is invisible
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity o...
^ See for example John D. Gottsch: "Mutation, Selection, And Vertical Transmission Of Theistic Memes In Religious Canons" in Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission, Volume 5, Issue 1, 2001.
an undivided or unbroken completeness or totality with nothing wanting
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity o...
Children respond particularly receptively to the ideas of their parents, and thus ideas which directly or indirectly encourage a higher birthrate will replicate themselves at a higher rate than those that discourage higher birthrates.
2.
Memetics thus remains a theory in its infancy, a protoscience to proponents, or a pseudoscience to some detractors[who?].
[edit] Criticism of meme theory
An objection to the study of the evolution of memes in genetic terms (although not to the existence of memes) involves the fact that the cumulative evolution of genes depends on biological selection-pressures neither too great nor too small in relation to mutation-rates.
a system of rules of conduct or method of practice
Meme theory commonly cites memes grouped in memeplexes of religion as examples.[16]
[edit] Memetics
Main article: Memetics
The discipline of memetics, which dates from the mid 1980s, provides an approach to evolutionary models of cultural information transfer based on the concept of the meme.
In contrast, the concept of genetics gained concrete evidence with the discovery of the biological functions of DNA. In the context of the exact sciences, memetics suffers in comparison because, unlike the idea of genes, memes do not necessarily have or need a concrete medium in order to transfer.
[edit] Transmission
Life-forms can transmit information both vertically (from parent to child, via replication of genes) and horizontally (through viruses and other means).
* Dawkins' speech on the 30th anniversary of the publication of The Selfish Gene, Dawkins 2006
* "Evolution and Memes: The human brain as a selective imitation device": article by Susan Blackmore.
Only the autistic subjects—who lack the degree of inferential capacity normally associated with aspects of theory of mind—came close to functioning as "meme machines".[24]
the largest city in New York State and in the United States; located in southeastern New York at the mouth of the Hudson river; a major financial and cultural center
* Aunger, Robert (2000), Darwinizing culture: the status of memetics as a science, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-263244-2
* Aunger, Robert (2002), The electric meme: a new theory of how we think, New York: Free Press, ISBN 0-7432-0150-7
* Balkin, J. M. (1998), Cultural software: a theory of ideology, New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-07288-0
* Bloom, Howard S. (1997), The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the For...
Without such an explanation memes (seen in such terms) find themselves without reason, limited to cover all but science and memetics itself.[citation needed] Others have countered that meme-perspectives do not exclude talk of meaning, truth, or falsity as relevant.[25]
[edit] Religion
See also: Evolutionary psychology of religion
Although evolutionists[who?] had previously[when?] sought to understand and explain religion in terms of a cultural attribute which might conceivably confer...
a monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior
In Thought Contagion Lynch identifies the memes of transmission in Christianity as especially powerful in scope.
In contrast, the concept of genetics gained concrete evidence with the discovery of the biological functions of DNA. In the context of the exact sciences, memetics suffers in comparison because, unlike the idea of genes, memes do not necessarily have or need a concrete medium in order to transfer.
[edit] Transmission
Life-forms can transmit information both vertically (from parent to child, via replication of genes) and horizontally (through viruses and other means).
someone who believes and helps to spread the doctrine of another
Without such an explanation memes (seen in such terms) find themselves without reason, limited to cover all but science and memetics itself.[citation needed] Others have countered that meme-perspectives do not exclude talk of meaning, truth, or falsity as relevant.[25]
[edit] Religion
See also: Evolutionary psychology of religion
Although evolutionists[who?] had previously[when?] sought to understand and explain religion in terms of a cultural attribute which might conceivably confer biolog...
In contrast, the concept of genetics gained concrete evidence with the discovery of the biological functions of DNA. In the context of the exact sciences, memetics suffers in comparison because, unlike the idea of genes, memes do not necessarily have or need a concrete medium in order to transfer.
[edit] Transmission
Life-forms can transmit information both vertically (from parent to child, via replication of genes) and horizontally (through viruses and other means).
Blackmore meets such criticism by stating that memes compare with genes in this respect: that while a gene has no particular size, nor can we ascribe every phenotypic feature directly to a particular gene, it has value because it encapsulates that key unit of inherited expression subject to evolutionary pressures.
a list of divisions (chapters or articles) and the pages on which they start
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Origins and concepts
* 2 Transmission
* 3 Memes as discrete units
* 4 Evolutionary influences on memes
* 5 Memetics
* 6 Criticism of meme theory
o 6.1
* Aunger, Robert (2000), Darwinizing culture: the status of memetics as a science, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-263244-2
* Aunger, Robert (2002), The electric meme: a new theory of how we think, New York: Free Press, ISBN 0-7432-0150-7
* Balkin, J. M. (1998), Cultural software: a theory of ideology, New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-07288-0
* Bloom, Howard S. (1997), The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the For...
done by or characteristic of individuals acting together
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
Hidden categories: Articles that may contain original research from September 2008 | All articles that may contain original research | Articles lacking in-text citations from November 2009 | All articles lacking in-text cit...
a doctrine or code of beliefs accepted as authoritative
Luis Benitez-Bribiesca M.D., a critic of memetics, calls it "a pseudoscientific dogma" and "a dangerous idea that poses a threat to the serious study of conciousness and cultural evolution" among other things.
Balkin describes racist beliefs as "fantasy" memes which become harmful or unjust "ideologies" when diverse peoples come together, as through trade or competition.[26]
[edit] Internet culture
Main article: Internet meme
The term "Internet meme" refers to a catchphrase or concept that spreads rapidly from person to person via the Internet, largely through Internet-based email, blogs, forums, Internet-based social networking sites and Internet-based instant messaging.
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity o...
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
The lack of a consistent, rigorous, and precise understanding of what typically makes up one unit of cultural transmission remains a problem in debates about memetics.[8]
of or relating to the external conditions or surroundings
To Balkin, whether memes become harmful or maladaptive depends on the environmental context in which they exist rather than in any special source or manner to their origination.
Only the autistic subjects—who lack the degree of inferential capacity normally associated with aspects of theory of mind—came close to functioning as "meme machines".[24]
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
* Aunger, Robert (2000), Darwinizing culture: the status of memetics as a science, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-263244-2
* Aunger, Robert (2002), The electric meme: a new theory of how we think, New York: Free Press, ISBN 0-7432-0150-7
* Balkin, J. M. (1998), Cultural software: a theory of ideology, New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-07288-0
* Bloom, Howard S. (1997), The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the For...
Balkin describes racist beliefs as "fantasy" memes which become harmful or unjust "ideologies" when diverse peoples come together, as through trade or competition.[26]
[edit] Internet culture
Main article: Internet meme
The term "Internet meme" refers to a catchphrase or concept that spreads rapidly from person to person via the Internet, largely through Internet-based email, blogs, forums, Internet-based social networking sites and Internet-based instant messaging.
Others such as Bruce Edmonds and Robert Aunger have focused on the need to provide an empirical grounding for memetics to become a useful and respected scientific discipline.[22]
As factual criticism, he refers to the lack of a code script for memes, as the DNA is for genes, and to the fact that the meme mutation mechanism (i.e., an idea going from one brain to another) is too unstable (low replication accuracy and high mutation rate), which would render the evolutionary process chaotic.[18]
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
Balkin describes racist beliefs as "fantasy" memes which become harmful or unjust "ideologies" when diverse peoples come together, as through trade or competition.[26]
[edit] Internet culture
Main article: Internet meme
The term "Internet meme" refers to a catchphrase or concept that spreads rapidly from person to person via the Internet, largely through Internet-based email, blogs, forums, Internet-based social networking sites and Internet-based instant messaging.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
Because humans do not always copy memes perfectly, and because they may refine, combine or otherwise modify them with other memes to create new memes, they can change over time.
The image of the crucifixion recurs in religious sacraments, and the proliferation of symbols of the cross (itself a meme) in homes and churches potently reinforces the wide array of Christian memes.[11]
[edit] Memetic explanations of racism
In Cultural Software: A Theory of Ideology, Jack Balkin argued that memetic processes can explain many of the most familiar features of ideological thought.
* Blackmore, Susan J. (1999), The meme machine, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press (published 1999-04-08), pp. 288, ISBN 0-19-850365-2 [trade paperback ISBN 0-9658817-8-4 (1999), ISBN 0-19-286212-X (2000)]
* Brodie, Richard (1996), Virus of the mind: the new science of the meme, Seattle, Wash: Integral Press, pp. 251, ISBN 0-9636001-1-7
* Dawkins, Richard (2004), A Devil's Chaplain : Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love, Boston: Mariner Books, pp. 263, ISB...
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
obtainable or accessible and ready for use or service
The leveling-off of all such interesting "memes" down to some neutralized molecular "substance" such as "meme-substance" introduces a bias toward scientism and abandons the very essence of what makes ideas interesting, richly available, and worth studying.[21]
[edit] Applications
Opinions differ as to how best to apply the concept of memes within a "proper" disciplinary framework.
to a distinctly greater extent or degree than is common
Children respond particularly receptively to the ideas of their parents, and thus ideas which directly or indirectly encourage a higher birthrate will replicate themselves at a higher rate than those that discourage higher birthrates.
2.
Memetics thus remains a theory in its infancy, a protoscience to proponents, or a pseudoscience to some detractors[who?].
[edit] Criticism of meme theory
An objection to the study of the evolution of memes in genetic terms (although not to the existence of memes) involves the fact that the cumulative evolution of genes depends on biological selection-pressures neither too great nor too small in relation to mutation-rates.
In another experiment, normal subjects and autistic subjects interpreted ideological and religious sayings (for example, "Let a thousand flowers bloom" or "To everything there is a season").
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
To emphasize commonality with genes, Dawkins coined the term "meme" by shortening "mimeme", which derives from the Greek word mimema ("something imitated").[1]
Proponents of this view (such as Susan Blackmore and Daniel Dennett) argue that considering cultural developments from a meme's-eye view—as if memes themselves respond to pressure to maximise their own replication and survival—can lead to useful insights and yield valuable predictions into how culture develops over time.
Imitation often involves the copying of an observed behaviour of another individual, but memes may transmit from one individual to another through a copy recorded in an inanimate source, such as a book or a musical score.
John S. Wilkins retained the notion of meme as a kernel of cultural imitation while emphasizing the meme's evolutionary aspect, defining the meme as "the least unit of sociocultural information relative to a selection process that has favourable or unfavourable selection bias that exceeds its endogenous tendency to change."[12]
device consisting of a piece of machinery; has moving parts that perform some function
As factual criticism, he refers to the lack of a code script for memes, as the DNA is for genes, and to the fact that the meme mutation mechanism (i.e., an idea going from one brain to another) is too unstable (low replication accuracy and high mutation rate), which would render the evolutionary process chaotic.[18]
a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently
In keeping with the thesis that in evolution one can regard organisms simply as suitable "hosts" for reproducing genes, Dawkins argues that one can view people as "hosts" for replicating memes.
lacking any definite plan or order or purpose; governed by or depending on chance
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
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in spite of everything; without regard to drawbacks
The meme as a unit provides a convenient means of discussing "a piece of thought copied from person to person", regardless if that thought contains others inside it, or forms part of a larger meme.
In contrast, the concept of genetics gained concrete evidence with the discovery of the biological functions of DNA. In the context of the exact sciences, memetics suffers in comparison because, unlike the idea of genes, memes do not necessarily have or need a concrete medium in order to transfer.
[edit] Transmission
Life-forms can transmit information both vertically (from parent to child, via replication of genes) and horizontally (through viruses and other means).
a quantity or amount or measure considered as a proportion of another quantity or amount or measure
Children respond particularly receptively to the ideas of their parents, and thus ideas which directly or indirectly encourage a higher birthrate will replicate themselves at a higher rate than those that discourage higher birthrates.
2.
the prescribed procedure for conducting religious ceremonies
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
a poetic term for a shore (as the area periodically covered and uncovered by the tides)
To illustrate, she notes evolution selects for the gene for features such as eye color; it does not select for the individual nucleotide in a strand of DNA. Memes play a comparable role in understanding the evolution of imitated behaviors.[8]
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
The meme as a unit provides a convenient means of discussing "a piece of thought copied from person to person", regardless if that thought contains others inside it, or forms part of a larger meme.
* Jan, Steven: The Memetics of Music: A Neo-Darwinian View of Musical Structure and Culture (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007)
* Kelly, Kevin (1994), Out of control: the new biology of machines, social systems and the economic world, Boston: Addison-Wesley, pp. 360, ISBN 0-201-48340-8
* Lynch, Aaron (1996), Thought contagion: how belief spreads through society, New York: BasicBooks, pp. 208, ISBN 0-465-08467-2
* Post, Stephen Garrard; Underwood, Lynn G; Schloss, Jeffrey P Garrard (2002...
Controls tended to infer a wider range of cultural meanings with little replicated content (for example: "Go with the flow" or "Everyone should have equal opportunity").
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity o...
a low evergreen shrub of the family Ericaceae; has small bell-shaped pink or purple flowers
In their book Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath describe characteristics of an idea that make it "sticky" (i.e. memorable or interesting).
[edit] Memes as discrete units
Richard Dawkins initially defined meme as a noun which "conveys the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation".[4]
* Blackmore, Susan J. (1999), The meme machine, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press (published 1999-04-08), pp. 288, ISBN 0-19-850365-2 [trade paperback ISBN 0-9658817-8-4 (1999), ISBN 0-19-286212-X (2000)]
* Brodie, Richard (1996), Virus of the mind: the new science of the meme, Seattle, Wash: Integral Press, pp. 251, ISBN 0-9636001-1-7
* Dawkins, Richard (2004), A Devil's Chaplain : Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love, Boston: Mariner Books, pp. 263, ISB...
in accordance with nature; relating to or concerning nature
Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success.
Principal criticisms[which?] of memetics include the claim that memetics ignores established advances in other fields of cultural study, such as sociology, cultural anthropology, cognitive psychology, and social psychology.
being or relating to or derived from or having properties characteristic of living organisms
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity or repli...
Susan Blackmore writes that melodies from Beethoven's symphonies are commonly used to illustrate the difficulty involved in delimiting memes as discrete units.
used of a living language; being the current stage in its development
* Aunger, Robert (2000), Darwinizing culture: the status of memetics as a science, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-263244-2
* Aunger, Robert (2002), The electric meme: a new theory of how we think, New York: Free Press, ISBN 0-7432-0150-7
* Balkin, J. M. (1998), Cultural software: a theory of ideology, New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-07288-0
* Bloom, Howard S. (1997), The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the For...
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
Hidden categories: Articles that may contain original research from September 2008 | All articles that may contain original research | Articles lacking in-text citations from November 2009 | All articles lacking in-text citations ...
(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result
Children respond particularly receptively to the ideas of their parents, and thus ideas which directly or indirectly encourage a higher birthrate will replicate themselves at a higher rate than those that discourage higher birthrates.
2.
Observers distinguish the contagious imitation of memes from instinctively contagious phenomena such as yawning and laughing, which they consider innate (rather than socially learned) behaviors.[9]
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity or repli...
the act of passing from one state or place to the next
Toward a theory of metasystem transitions, (Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, New York) (special issue of World Futures: the journal of general evolution, vol. 45, p. 155-171).
lever that activates the firing mechanism of a gun
In their view, minds structure certain communicable aspects of the ideas produced, and these communicable aspects generally trigger or elicit ideas in other minds through inference (to relatively rich structures generated from often low-fidelity input) and not high-fidelity replication or imitation.
Take for example the case of the transmission of a simple skill such as hammering a nail, a skill which a learner imitates from watching a demonstration without necessarily imitating every discrete movement modeled by the teacher in the demonstration, stroke for stroke.[15]
an involuntary intake of breath through a wide open mouth; usually triggered by fatigue or boredom
Observers distinguish the contagious imitation of memes from instinctively contagious phenomena such as yawning and laughing, which they consider innate (rather than socially learned) behaviors.[9]
the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists
The leveling-off of all such interesting "memes" down to some neutralized molecular "substance" such as "meme-substance" introduces a bias toward scientism and abandons the very essence of what makes ideas interesting, richly available, and worth studying.[21]
[edit] Applications
Opinions differ as to how best to apply the concept of memes within a "proper" disciplinary framework.
Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catch-phrases, beliefs (notably religious beliefs), clothing fashion, and the technology of building arches.[4]
Meme theory commonly cites memes grouped in memeplexes of religion as examples.[16]
[edit] Memetics Main article: Memetics
The discipline of memetics, which dates from the mid 1980s, provides an approach to evolutionary models of cultural information transfer based on the concept of the meme.
Without such an explanation memes (seen in such terms) find themselves without reason, limited to cover all but science and memetics itself.[citation needed] Others have countered that meme-perspectives do not exclude talk of meaning, truth, or falsity as relevant.[25]
[edit] Religion
See also: Evolutionary psychology of religion
Although evolutionists[who?] had previously[when?] sought to understand and explain religion in terms of a cultural attribute which might conceivably confer biolog...
The leveling-off of all such interesting "memes" down to some neutralized molecular "substance" such as "meme-substance" introduces a bias toward scientism and abandons the very essence of what makes ideas interesting, richly available, and worth studying.[21]
[edit] Applications
Opinions differ as to how best to apply the concept of memes within a "proper" disciplinary framework.
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
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By linking altruism with religious affiliation, religious memes can proliferate more quickly because people perceive that they can reap societal as well as personal rewards.
your basis for belief or disbelief; knowledge on which to base belief
In contrast, the concept of genetics gained concrete evidence with the discovery of the biological functions of DNA. In the context of the exact sciences, memetics suffers in comparison because, unlike the idea of genes, memes do not necessarily have or need a concrete medium in order to transfer.
[edit] Transmission
Life-forms can transmit information both vertically (from parent to child, via replication of genes) and horizontally (through viruses and other means).
United States parliamentary authority and author (in 1876) of Robert's Rules of Order (1837-1923)
Others such as Bruce Edmonds and Robert Aunger have focused on the need to provide an empirical grounding for memetics to become a useful and respected scientific discipline.[22]
a substance that is used as a medicine or narcotic
Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 368, ISBN 0192177737
* Dennett, Daniel C. (2006), Breaking the Spell, Viking (Penguin), ISBN 0-670-03472-X
* Dennett, Daniel (1991), Consciousness Explained, Boston: Little, Brown and Co., ISBN 0316180653
* Distin, Kate (2005), The selfish meme: a critical reassessment, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 238, ISBN 0-521-60627-6
* Farnish, Keith, "Time's Up! An Uncivilized Solution To A Global Crisis", Totnes: Green Books, p...
a formal religious ceremony conferring a specific grace on those who receive it; the two Protestant ceremonies are baptism and the Lord's Supper; in the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church there are seven traditional rites accepted as instituted by Jesus: baptism and confirmation and Holy Eucharist and penance and holy orders and matrimony and extreme unction
The image of the crucifixion recurs in religious sacraments, and the proliferation of symbols of the cross (itself a meme) in homes and churches potently reinforces the wide array of Christian memes.[11]
[edit] Memetic explanations of racism
In Cultural Software: A Theory of Ideology, Jack Balkin argued that memetic processes can explain many of the most familiar features of ideological thought.
This issue with the possibility of memes has an illustration in the inability of such a meme-reductionist proposal to afford an explanation of how memetics itself qualifies as a meme, or, further, how one could describe biological genetics as a rather successful meme current in 20th-century science.
a sheltered port where ships can take on or discharge cargo
* Aunger, Robert (2000), Darwinizing culture: the status of memetics as a science, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-263244-2
* Aunger, Robert (2002), The electric meme: a new theory of how we think, New York: Free Press, ISBN 0-7432-0150-7
* Balkin, J. M. (1998), Cultural software: a theory of ideology, New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-07288-0
* Bloom, Howard S. (1997), The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the For...
the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained
The British scientist Richard Dawkins introduced the word "meme" in The Selfish Gene (1976) as a basis for discussion of evolutionary principles in explaining the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena.
the cognitive processes whereby past experience is remembered
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
an extended communication (often interactive) dealing with some particular topic
The British scientist Richard Dawkins introduced the word "meme" in The Selfish Gene (1976) as a basis for discussion of evolutionary principles in explaining the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena.
Proponents of this view (such as Susan Blackmore and Daniel Dennett) argue that considering cultural developments from a meme's-eye view—as if memes themselves respond to pressure to maximise their own replication and survival—can lead to useful insights and yield valuable predictions into how culture develops over time.
the guidance of ships or airplanes from place to place
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
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Each tool-design thus acts somewhat similarly to a biological gene in that some populations have it and others do not, and the meme's function directly affects the presence of the design in future generations.
the date on which an event occurred in some previous year (or the celebration of it)
* Dawkins' speech on the 30th anniversary of the publication of The Selfish Gene, Dawkins 2006
* "Evolution and Memes: The human brain as a selective imitation device": article by Susan Blackmore.
In contrast, the concept of genetics gained concrete evidence with the discovery of the biological functions of DNA. In the context of the exact sciences, memetics suffers in comparison because, unlike the idea of genes, memes do not necessarily have or need a concrete medium in order to transfer.
[edit] Transmission
Life-forms can transmit information both vertically (from parent to child, via replication of genes) and horizontally (through viruses and other means).
secure and keep for possible future use or application
John S. Wilkins retained the notion of meme as a kernel of cultural imitation while emphasizing the meme's evolutionary aspect, defining the meme as "the least unit of sociocultural information relative to a selection process that has favourable or unfavourable selection bias that exceeds its endogenous tendency to change."[12]
Some prominent researchers in evolutionary psychology and anthropology, including Scott Atran, Dan Sperber, Pascal Boyer, John Tooby and others, argue the possibility of incompatibility between modularity of mind and memetics.
The lack of a consistent, rigorous, and precise understanding of what typically makes up one unit of cultural transmission remains a problem in debates about memetics.[8]
Other examples of the varying degrees of criticism of memetics include the following:
[edit] Lack of philosophical appeal
In his chapter titled "Truth" published in the Encyclopedia of Phenomenology, Dieter Lohmar questions the memeticists' reduction of the highly complex body of ideas (such as religion, politics, war, justice, and science itself) to a putatively one-dimensional series of memes.
As factual criticism, he refers to the lack of a code script for memes, as the DNA is for genes, and to the fact that the meme mutation mechanism (i.e., an idea going from one brain to another) is too unstable (low replication accuracy and high mutation rate), which would render the evolutionary process chaotic.[18]
Imitation often involves the copying of an observed behaviour of another individual, but memes may transmit from one individual to another through a copy recorded in an inanimate source, such as a book or a musical score.
Because humans do not always copy memes perfectly, and because they may refine, combine or otherwise modify them with other memes to create new memes, they can change over time.
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
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concerning or affecting a particular person or his or her private life and personality
A third approach, described[by whom?] as "radical memetics", seeks to place memes at the centre of a materialistic theory of mind and of personal identity.[23]
To Balkin, whether memes become harmful or maladaptive depends on the environmental context in which they exist rather than in any special source or manner to their origination.
Take for example the case of the transmission of a simple skill such as hammering a nail, a skill which a learner imitates from watching a demonstration without necessarily imitating every discrete movement modeled by the teacher in the demonstration, stroke for stroke.[15]
pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives
To illustrate, she notes evolution selects for the gene for features such as eye color; it does not select for the individual nucleotide in a strand of DNA. Memes play a comparable role in understanding the evolution of imitated behaviors.[8]
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
Hidden categories: Articles that may contain original research from September 2008 | All articles that may contain original research | Articles lacking in-text citations from November 2009 | All articles lacking in-text cit...
occurring among members of a family usually by heredity
Blackmore meets such criticism by stating that memes compare with genes in this respect: that while a gene has no particular size, nor can we ascribe every phenotypic feature directly to a particular gene, it has value because it encapsulates that key unit of inherited expression subject to evolutionary pressures.
* Aunger, Robert (2000), Darwinizing culture: the status of memetics as a science, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-263244-2
* Aunger, Robert (2002), The electric meme: a new theory of how we think, New York: Free Press, ISBN 0-7432-0150-7
* Balkin, J. M. (1998), Cultural software: a theory of ideology, New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-07288-0
* Bloom, Howard S. (1997), The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of ...
unique or specific to a person or thing or category
Dawkins wrote that evolution depended not on the particular chemical basis of genetics, but only on the existence of a self-replicating unit of transmission – in the case of biological evolution, the gene.
involving the entire earth; not limited or provincial in scope
Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 368, ISBN 0192177737
* Dennett, Daniel C. (2006), Breaking the Spell, Viking (Penguin), ISBN 0-670-03472-X
* Dennett, Daniel (1991), Consciousness Explained, Boston: Little, Brown and Co., ISBN 0316180653
* Distin, Kate (2005), The selfish meme: a critical reassessment, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 238, ISBN 0-521-60627-6
* Farnish, Keith, "Time's Up! An Uncivilized Solution To A Global Crisis", Totnes: Green B...
(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
* Blackmore, Susan J. (1999), The meme machine, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press (published 1999-04-08), pp. 288, ISBN 0-19-850365-2 [trade paperback ISBN 0-9658817-8-4 (1999), ISBN 0-19-286212-X (2000)]
* Brodie, Richard (1996), Virus of the mind: the new science of the meme, Seattle, Wash: Integral Press, pp. 251, ISBN 0-9636001-1-7
* Dawkins, Richard (2004), A Devil's Chaplain : Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love, Boston: Mariner Books, pp. 263, ISB...
the first month of the year; begins 10 days after the winter solstice
Categories: Memetics | Collective intelligence | Cultural anthropology | Evolutionary psychology | Futurology | Internet memes | Philosophy of mind | Units of morphological analysis | Units of information (cognitive processes) | Words coined in the 1970s | Concepts
Hidden categories: Articles that may contain original research from September 2008 | All articles that may contain original research | Articles lacking in-text citations from November 2009 | All articles lacking in-text citations ...
Ideas which encourage longevity in their hosts, or leave their hosts particularly resistant to abandoning or replacing these ideas, enhance the preservability of memes and afford protection from the competition or proselytism of other memes.
5.
In their book Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath describe characteristics of an idea that make it "sticky" (i.e. memorable or interesting).
[edit] Memes as discrete units
Richard Dawkins initially defined meme as a noun which "conveys the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation".[4]
The lack of a consistent, rigorous, and precise understanding of what typically makes up one unit of cultural transmission remains a problem in debates about memetics.[8]
a small fragment of something broken off from the whole
In their book Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath describe characteristics of an idea that make it "sticky" (i.e. memorable or interesting).
[edit] Memes as discrete units
Richard Dawkins initially defined meme as a noun which "conveys the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation".[4]
the rational and systematic study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truth
* Poulshock, Joseph (2002), "The Problem and Potential of Memetics", Journal of Psychology and Theology (Rosemead School of Psychology, Gale Group (2004)): 68+
* Sterelny, Kim; Griffiths, Paul E. (1999).
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
either of the two categories (male or female) into which most organisms are divided
Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 368, ISBN 0192177737
* Dennett, Daniel C. (2006), Breaking the Spell, Viking (Penguin), ISBN 0-670-03472-X
* Dennett, Daniel (1991), Consciousness Explained, Boston: Little, Brown and Co., ISBN 0316180653
* Distin, Kate (2005), The selfish meme: a critical reassessment, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 238, ISBN 0-521-60627-6
* Farnish, Keith, "Time's Up! An Uncivilized Solution To A Global Crisis", Totnes: Green Books, p...
The lack of a consistent, rigorous, and precise understanding of what typically makes up one unit of cultural transmission remains a problem in debates about memetics.[8]
* Aunger, Robert (2000), Darwinizing culture: the status of memetics as a science, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-263244-2
* Aunger, Robert (2002), The electric meme: a new theory of how we think, New York: Free Press, ISBN 0-7432-0150-7
* Balkin, J. M. (1998), Cultural software: a theory of ideology, New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-07288-0
* Bloom, Howard S. (1997), The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the For...
The meme as a unit provides a convenient means of discussing "a piece of thought copied from person to person", regardless if that thought contains others inside it, or forms part of a larger meme.
* Jan, Steven: The Memetics of Music: A Neo-Darwinian View of Musical Structure and Culture (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007)
* Kelly, Kevin (1994), Out of control: the new biology of machines, social systems and the economic world, Boston: Addison-Wesley, pp. 360, ISBN 0-201-48340-8
* Lynch, Aaron (1996), Thought contagion: how belief spreads through society, New York: BasicBooks, pp. 208, ISBN 0-465-08467-2
* Post, Stephen Garrard; Underwood, Lynn G; Schloss, Jeffrey P Garrard (2002...
not fair; marked by injustice or partiality or deception
Balkin describes racist beliefs as "fantasy" memes which become harmful or unjust "ideologies" when diverse peoples come together, as through trade or competition.[26]
[edit] Internet culture
Main article: Internet meme
The term "Internet meme" refers to a catchphrase or concept that spreads rapidly from person to person via the Internet, largely through Internet-based email, blogs, forums, Internet-based social networking sites and Internet-based instant messaging.
Ideas that encourage the proselytism of a meme, as seen in many religious or political movements, can replicate memes horizontally through a given generation, spreading more rapidly than parent-to-child meme-transmissions do.
4.
to a high degree or extent; favorably or with much respect
Other examples of the varying degrees of criticism of memetics include the following:
[edit] Lack of philosophical appeal
In his chapter titled "Truth" published in the Encyclopedia of Phenomenology, Dieter Lohmar questions the memeticists' reduction of the highly complex body of ideas (such as religion, politics, war, justice, and science itself) to a putatively one-dimensional series of memes.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
The meme as a unit provides a convenient means of discussing "a piece of thought copied from person to person", regardless if that thought contains others inside it, or forms part of a larger meme.
Ideas which encourage longevity in their hosts, or leave their hosts particularly resistant to abandoning or replacing these ideas, enhance the preservability of memes and afford protection from the competition or proselytism of other memes.
5.
an opening (especially a gap in a dike or fortification)
Toward a theory of metasystem transitions, (Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, New York) (special issue of World Futures: the journal of general evolution, vol. 45, p. 155-171).
in a relative manner; by comparison to something else
In their view, minds structure certain communicable aspects of the ideas produced, and these communicable aspects generally trigger or elicit ideas in other minds through inference (to relatively rich structures generated from often low-fidelity input) and not high-fidelity replication or imitation.
single thickness of usually some homogeneous substance
The highly interconnected, multi-layering of ideas resists memetic simplification to an atomic or molecular form; as does the fact that each of our lives remains fully enmeshed and involved in such "memes".
a brief description given for purposes of identification
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity o...
a formal organization of people or groups of people
Strictly speaking, motivationally transmitted memes do not self-propagate, but this mode of transmission often occurs in association with memes self-replicated in the efficiency parental, proselytic and preservational modes.
John S. Wilkins retained the notion of meme as a kernel of cultural imitation while emphasizing the meme's evolutionary aspect, defining the meme as "the least unit of sociocultural information relative to a selection process that has favourable or unfavourable selection bias that exceeds its endogenous tendency to change."[12]
a collection of books accepted as holy scripture especially the books of the Bible recognized by any Christian church as genuine and inspired
^ See for example John D. Gottsch: "Mutation, Selection, And Vertical Transmission Of Theistic Memes In Religious Canons" in Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission, Volume 5, Issue 1, 2001.
Luis Benitez-Bribiesca M.D., a critic of memetics, calls it "a pseudoscientific dogma" and "a dangerous idea that poses a threat to the serious study of conciousness and cultural evolution" among other things.
involving or causing danger or risk; liable to hurt or harm
Luis Benitez-Bribiesca M.D., a critic of memetics, calls it "a pseudoscientific dogma" and "a dangerous idea that poses a threat to the serious study of conciousness and cultural evolution" among other things.
the individual characteristics by which a thing or person is recognized or known
A third approach, described[by whom?] as "radical memetics", seeks to place memes at the centre of a materialistic theory of mind and of personal identity.[23]
This issue with the possibility of memes has an illustration in the inability of such a meme-reductionist proposal to afford an explanation of how memetics itself qualifies as a meme, or, further, how one could describe biological genetics as a rather successful meme current in 20th-century science.
emotional or moral sensitivity (especially in relation to personal principles or dignity)
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translatable as...
* Aunger, Robert (2000), Darwinizing culture: the status of memetics as a science, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-263244-2
* Aunger, Robert (2002), The electric meme: a new theory of how we think, New York: Free Press, ISBN 0-7432-0150-7
* Balkin, J. M. (1998), Cultural software: a theory of ideology, New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-07288-0
* Bloom, Howard S. (1997), The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the For...
Memetics attempts to apply conventional scientific methods (such as those used in population genetics and epidemiology) to explain existing patterns and transmission of cultural ideas.
act of extending over a wider scope or expanse of space or time
Ideas that encourage the proselytism of a meme, as seen in many religious or political movements, can replicate memes horizontally through a given generation, spreading more rapidly than parent-to-child meme-transmissions do.
4.
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity or repli...
Some denominations' promise of heaven to believers and threat of hell to non-believers provide a strong incentive for members to retain their belief (though not for nonbelievers to adopt it, as that promise and threat are among the tenets that they do not find credible in the first place[citation needed]).
describe or portray the character or the qualities or peculiarities of
This issue with the possibility of memes has an illustration in the inability of such a meme-reductionist proposal to afford an explanation of how memetics itself qualifies as a meme, or, further, how one could describe biological genetics as a rather successful meme current in 20th-century science.
quantifier; used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
Theorists point out that memes which replicate the most effectively spread best, and some memes may replicate effectively even when they prove detrimental to the welfare of their hosts.[5]
Others such as Bruce Edmonds and Robert Aunger have focused on the need to provide an empirical grounding for memetics to become a useful and respected scientific discipline.[22]
Despite the subjects' own expectations of consensus, interpretations of the commandments showed wide ranges of variation, with little evidence of consensus.
the place where something begins, where it springs into being
Imitation often involves the copying of an observed behaviour of another individual, but memes may transmit from one individual to another through a copy recorded in an inanimate source, such as a book or a musical score.
the property of something that is great in magnitude
^ See for example John D. Gottsch: "Mutation, Selection, And Vertical Transmission Of Theistic Memes In Religious Canons" in Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission, Volume 5, Issue 1, 2001.
a process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage)
Proponents of this view (such as Susan Blackmore and Daniel Dennett) argue that considering cultural developments from a meme's-eye view—as if memes themselves respond to pressure to maximise their own replication and survival—can lead to useful insights and yield valuable predictions into how culture develops over time.
the natural physical world including plants and animals and landscapes etc.
While the identification of memes as "units" conveys their nature to replicate as discrete, indivisible entities, it does not imply that thoughts somehow become quantized or that "atomic" ideas exist which cannot be dissected into smaller pieces.
In another experiment, normal subjects and autistic subjects interpreted ideological and religious sayings (for example, "Let a thousand flowers bloom" or "To everything there is a season").
The leveling-off of all such interesting "memes" down to some neutralized molecular "substance" such as "meme-substance" introduces a bias toward scientism and abandons the very essence of what makes ideas interesting, richly available, and worth studying.[21]
[edit] Applications
Opinions differ as to how best to apply the concept of memes within a "proper" disciplinary framework.
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
have the financial means to do something or buy something
Ideas which encourage longevity in their hosts, or leave their hosts particularly resistant to abandoning or replacing these ideas, enhance the preservability of memes and afford protection from the competition or proselytism of other memes.
5.
Each tool-design thus acts somewhat similarly to a biological gene in that some populations have it and others do not, and the meme's function directly affects the presence of the design in future generations.
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity o...
youngest son of Henry II; King of England from 1199 to 1216; succeeded to the throne on the death of his brother Richard I; lost his French possessions; in 1215 John was compelled by the barons to sign the Magna Carta (1167-1216)
John S. Wilkins retained the notion of meme as a kernel of cultural imitation while emphasizing the meme's evolutionary aspect, defining the meme as "the least unit of sociocultural information relative to a selection process that has favourable or unfavourable selection bias that exceeds its endogenous tendency to change."[12]
Cultural separatism exemplifies one practice in which one can expect a higher rate of meme-replication — because the meme for separation creates a barrier from exposure to competing ideas.
3.
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
Researchers have observed memetic copying in just a few species on Earth, including hominids, dolphins and birds (which learn how to sing by imitating their parents or neighbors).[9]
the practical application of science to commerce or industry
Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catch-phrases, beliefs (notably religious beliefs), clothing fashion, and the technology of building arches.[4]
This issue with the possibility of memes has an illustration in the inability of such a meme-reductionist proposal to afford an explanation of how memetics itself qualifies as a meme, or, further, how one could describe biological genetics as a rather successful meme current in 20th-century science.
the choicest or most essential or most vital part of some idea or experience
The leveling-off of all such interesting "memes" down to some neutralized molecular "substance" such as "meme-substance" introduces a bias toward scientism and abandons the very essence of what makes ideas interesting, richly available, and worth studying.[21]
[edit] Applications
Opinions differ as to how best to apply the concept of memes within a "proper" disciplinary framework.
Imitation often involves the copying of an observed behaviour of another individual, but memes may transmit from one individual to another through a copy recorded in an inanimate source, such as a book or a musical score.
The lack of a consistent, rigorous, and precise understanding of what typically makes up one unit of cultural transmission remains a problem in debates about memetics.[8]
the prevailing context that influences the performance or the outcome of a process
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity o...
John S. Wilkins retained the notion of meme as a kernel of cultural imitation while emphasizing the meme's evolutionary aspect, defining the meme as "the least unit of sociocultural information relative to a selection process that has favourable or unfavourable selection bias that exceeds its endogenous tendency to change."[12]
reduced to the simplest and most significant form possible without loss of generality
For example, religions that preach of the value of faith-based belief over evidence from everyday experience or reason inoculate societies against many of the most basic tools people commonly use to evaluate their ideas.
that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
As factual criticism, he refers to the lack of a code script for memes, as the DNA is for genes, and to the fact that the meme mutation mechanism (i.e., an idea going from one brain to another) is too unstable (low replication accuracy and high mutation rate), which would render the evolutionary process chaotic.[18]
United States comedian (born in England) who appeared in films with Bing Crosby (1903-2003)
* Blackmore, Susan J. (1999), The meme machine, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press (published 1999-04-08), pp. 288, ISBN 0-19-850365-2 [trade paperback ISBN 0-9658817-8-4 (1999), ISBN 0-19-286212-X (2000)]
* Brodie, Richard (1996), Virus of the mind: the new science of the meme, Seattle, Wash: Integral Press, pp. 251, ISBN 0-9636001-1-7
* Dawkins, Richard (2004), A Devil's Chaplain : Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love, Boston: Mariner Books, pp. 263, ISB...
the human beings of a particular nation or community or ethnic group
Balkin describes racist beliefs as "fantasy" memes which become harmful or unjust "ideologies" when diverse peoples come together, as through trade or competition.[26]
[edit] Internet culture
Main article: Internet meme
The term "Internet meme" refers to a catchphrase or concept that spreads rapidly from person to person via the Internet, largely through Internet-based email, blogs, forums, Internet-based social networking sites and Internet-based instant messaging.
The meme as a unit provides a convenient means of discussing "a piece of thought copied from person to person", regardless if that thought contains others inside it, or forms part of a larger meme.
the name of a work of art or literary composition etc.
Applications
* 7 Religion
* 8 Memetic explanations of racism
* 9 Internet culture
* 10 See also
* 11 Notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links
[edit] Origins and concepts
Historically, the notion of a unit of social evolution, and a similar term (from Greek mneme, “memory”), first appeared in 1904 in a work by the German Lamarckist biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translat...
a strong wind moving 45-90 knots; force 7 to 10 on Beaufort scale
* Poulshock, Joseph (2002), "The Problem and Potential of Memetics", Journal of Psychology and Theology (Rosemead School of Psychology, Gale Group (2004)): 68+
* Sterelny, Kim; Griffiths, Paul E. (1999).
Observers distinguish the contagious imitation of memes from instinctively contagious phenomena such as yawning and laughing, which they consider innate (rather than socially learned) behaviors.[9]
The meme as a unit provides a convenient means of discussing "a piece of thought copied from person to person", regardless if that thought contains others inside it, or forms part of a larger meme.
An evolutionary psychology perspective on why and how cult memes get a drug-like hold on people, and what might be done to mitigate the effects", The Human Nature Review 2002 Volume 2: 343-355
* Heylighen, Francis; Chielens, K. (2009), "Evolution of Culture, Memetics", in Meyers, B., Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science, Springer, http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/Papers/Memetics-Springer.pdf
write or name the letters that comprise the conventionally accepted form of (a word or part of a word)
Dawkins wrote that evolution depended not on the particular chemical basis of genetics, but only on the existence of a self-replicating unit of transmission – in the case of biological evolution, the gene.
the concentration of attention or energy on something
Others such as Bruce Edmonds and Robert Aunger have focused on the need to provide an empirical grounding for memetics to become a useful and respected scientific discipline.[22]
Observers distinguish the contagious imitation of memes from instinctively contagious phenomena such as yawning and laughing, which they consider innate (rather than socially learned) behaviors.[9]
Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catch-phrases, beliefs (notably religious beliefs), clothing fashion, and the technology of building arches.[4]
keep in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., "keep clean"
His theory of "cultural software" maintained that memes form narratives, networks of cultural associations, metaphoric and metonymic models, and a variety of different mental structures.
Dawkins wrote that evolution depended not on the particular chemical basis of genetics, but only on the existence of a self-replicating unit of transmission – in the case of biological evolution, the gene.
United States female author who wrote a book and a syndicated newspaper column on etiquette (1872-1960)
* Jan, Steven: The Memetics of Music: A Neo-Darwinian View of Musical Structure and Culture (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007)
* Kelly, Kevin (1994), Out of control: the new biology of machines, social systems and the economic world, Boston: Addison-Wesley, pp. 360, ISBN 0-201-48340-8
* Lynch, Aaron (1996), Thought contagion: how belief spreads through society, New York: BasicBooks, pp. 208, ISBN 0-465-08467-2
* Post, Stephen Garrard; Underwood, Lynn G; Schloss, Jeffrey P Garrar...
Strictly speaking, motivationally transmitted memes do not self-propagate, but this mode of transmission often occurs in association with memes self-replicated in the efficiency parental, proselytic and preservational modes.
The lack of a consistent, rigorous, and precise understanding of what typically makes up one unit of cultural transmission remains a problem in debates about memetics.[8]
a hand tool with a heavy rigid head and a handle; used to deliver an impulsive force by striking
Take for example the case of the transmission of a simple skill such as hammering a nail, a skill which a learner imitates from watching a demonstration without necessarily imitating every discrete movement modeled by the teacher in the demonstration, stroke for stroke.[15]
(used of opinions and actions) far beyond the norm
A third approach, described[by whom?] as "radical memetics", seeks to place memes at the centre of a materialistic theory of mind and of personal identity.[23]
examine and note the similarities or differences of
Blackmore meets such criticism by stating that memes compare with genes in this respect: that while a gene has no particular size, nor can we ascribe every phenotypic feature directly to a particular gene, it has value because it encapsulates that key unit of inherited expression subject to evolutionary pressures.
declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity o...
Queen of England as the fifth wife of Henry VIII who was accused of adultery and executed (1520-1542)
* Aunger, Robert (2000), Darwinizing culture: the status of memetics as a science, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-263244-2
* Aunger, Robert (2002), The electric meme: a new theory of how we think, New York: Free Press, ISBN 0-7432-0150-7
* Balkin, J. M. (1998), Cultural software: a theory of ideology, New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-07288-0
* Bloom, Howard S. (1997), The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the For...
the first month of the year; begins 10 days after the winter solstice
* Jan, Steven: The Memetics of Music: A Neo-Darwinian View of Musical Structure and Culture (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007)
* Kelly, Kevin (1994), Out of control: the new biology of machines, social systems and the economic world, Boston: Addison-Wesley, pp. 360, ISBN 0-201-48340-8
* Lynch, Aaron (1996), Thought contagion: how belief spreads through society, New York: BasicBooks, pp. 208, ISBN 0-465-08467-2
* Post, Stephen Garrard; Underwood, Lynn G; Schloss, Jeffrey P Garrar...
a set of rules or principles or laws (especially written ones)
As factual criticism, he refers to the lack of a code script for memes, as the DNA is for genes, and to the fact that the meme mutation mechanism (i.e., an idea going from one brain to another) is too unstable (low replication accuracy and high mutation rate), which would render the evolutionary process chaotic.[18]
Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catch-phrases, beliefs (notably religious beliefs), clothing fashion, and the technology of building arches.[4]
a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
Memetics thus remains a theory in its infancy, a protoscience to proponents, or a pseudoscience to some detractors[who?].
[edit] Criticism of meme theory
An objection to the study of the evolution of memes in genetic terms (although not to the existence of memes) involves the fact that the cumulative evolution of genes depends on biological selection-pressures neither too great nor too small in relation to mutation-rates.
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity o...
Without such an explanation memes (seen in such terms) find themselves without reason, limited to cover all but science and memetics itself.[citation needed] Others have countered that meme-perspectives do not exclude talk of meaning, truth, or falsity as relevant.[25]
[edit] Religion
See also: Evolutionary psychology of religion
Although evolutionists[who?] had previously[when?] sought to understand and explain religion in terms of a cultural attribute which might conceivably confer...
A meme (pronounced /ˈmiːm/, rhyming with "cream"[1]) is a postulated unit of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena.
Autistics showed a significant tendency to closely paraphrase and repeat content from the original statement (for example: "Don't cut flowers before they bloom").
Some prominent researchers in evolutionary psychology and anthropology, including Scott Atran, Dan Sperber, Pascal Boyer, John Tooby and others, argue the possibility of incompatibility between modularity of mind and memetics.
of or made from or using substances produced by or used in reactions involving atomic or molecular changes
Dawkins wrote that evolution depended not on the particular chemical basis of genetics, but only on the existence of a self-replicating unit of transmission – in the case of biological evolution, the gene.
set down or registered in a permanent form especially on film or tape for reproduction
Imitation often involves the copying of an observed behaviour of another individual, but memes may transmit from one individual to another through a copy recorded in an inanimate source, such as a book or a musical score.
discovered or determined by scientific observation
Imitation often involves the copying of an observed behaviour of another individual, but memes may transmit from one individual to another through a copy recorded in an inanimate source, such as a book or a musical score.
the latest and most admired style in clothes and cosmetics and behavior
Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catch-phrases, beliefs (notably religious beliefs), clothing fashion, and the technology of building arches.[4]
Meme theory commonly cites memes grouped in memeplexes of religion as examples.[16]
[edit] Memetics
Main article: Memetics
The discipline of memetics, which dates from the mid 1980s, provides an approach to evolutionary models of cultural information transfer based on the concept of the meme.
* Dawkins' speech on the 30th anniversary of the publication of The Selfish Gene, Dawkins 2006
* "Evolution and Memes: The human brain as a selective imitation device": article by Susan Blackmore.
a verbal commitment by one person to another agreeing to do (or not to do) something in the future
Some denominations' promise of heaven to believers and threat of hell to non-believers provide a strong incentive for members to retain their belief (though not for nonbelievers to adopt it, as that promise and threat are among the tenets that they do not find credible in the first place[citation needed]).
a local tax on property (usually used in the plural)
Memetics thus remains a theory in its infancy, a protoscience to proponents, or a pseudoscience to some detractors[who?].
[edit] Criticism of meme theory
An objection to the study of the evolution of memes in genetic terms (although not to the existence of memes) involves the fact that the cumulative evolution of genes depends on biological selection-pressures neither too great nor too small in relation to mutation-rates.
in a simple manner; without extravagance or embellishment
Memes too, he writes, have the properties necessary for evolution, and thus meme evolution is not simply analogous to genetic evolution, but a real phenomenon subject to the laws of natural selection.
In contrast, the concept of genetics gained concrete evidence with the discovery of the biological functions of DNA. In the context of the exact sciences, memetics suffers in comparison because, unlike the idea of genes, memes do not necessarily have or need a concrete medium in order to transfer.
[edit] Transmission
Life-forms can transmit information both vertically (from parent to child, via replication of genes) and horizontally (through viruses and other means).
compete for something; engage in a contest; measure oneself against others
Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success.
The 1981 book Genes, Mind, and Culture: The Coevolutionary Process by Charles J. Lumsden and E. O. Wilson proposed the theory that genes and culture co-evolve, and that the fundamental biological units of culture must correspond to neuronal networks that function as nodes of semantic memory.
a thin pointed piece of metal that is hammered into materials as a fastener
Take for example the case of the transmission of a simple skill such as hammering a nail, a skill which a learner imitates from watching a demonstration without necessarily imitating every discrete movement modeled by the teacher in the demonstration, stroke for stroke.[15]
While the identification of memes as "units" conveys their nature to replicate as discrete, indivisible entities, it does not imply that thoughts somehow become quantized or that "atomic" ideas exist which cannot be dissected into smaller pieces.
an environmentalist who belongs to the Green Party
Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 368, ISBN 0192177737
* Dennett, Daniel C. (2006), Breaking the Spell, Viking (Penguin), ISBN 0-670-03472-X
* Dennett, Daniel (1991), Consciousness Explained, Boston: Little, Brown and Co., ISBN 0316180653
* Distin, Kate (2005), The selfish meme: a critical reassessment, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 238, ISBN 0-521-60627-6
* Farnish, Keith, "Time's Up! An Uncivilized Solution To A Global Crisis", Totnes: Green B...
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
Coauthor Wilson later acknowledged the term meme as the best label for the fundamental unit of cultural inheritance in his 1998 book Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge, which elaborates upon the fundamental role of memes in unifying the natural and social sciences.[13]
[edit] Evolutionary influences on memes
Richard Dawkins noted the three conditions which must exist for evolution to occur:[14]
1. variation, or the introduction of new change to existing elements
2. heredity or repli...
* Journal of Memetics, a peer-refereed journal of memetics published from 1997 until 2005
* Susan Blackmore: Memes and "temes", TED Talks February 2008
an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose
* Dawkins' speech on the 30th anniversary of the publication of The Selfish Gene, Dawkins 2006
* "Evolution and Memes: The human brain as a selective imitation device": article by Susan Blackmore.
the 2nd largest ocean; separates North and South America on the west from Europe and Africa on the east
* Aunger, Robert (2000), Darwinizing culture: the status of memetics as a science, Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-263244-2
* Aunger, Robert (2002), The electric meme: a new theory of how we think, New York: Free Press, ISBN 0-7432-0150-7
* Balkin, J. M. (1998), Cultural software: a theory of ideology, New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-07288-0
* Bloom, Howard S. (1997), The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of ...
the quality (positive or negative) that renders something desirable or valuable
Blackmore meets such criticism by stating that memes compare with genes in this respect: that while a gene has no particular size, nor can we ascribe every phenotypic feature directly to a particular gene, it has value because it encapsulates that key unit of inherited expression subject to evolutionary pressures.
Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catch-phrases, beliefs (notably religious beliefs), clothing fashion, and the technology of building arches.[4]
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
Despite the subjects' own expectations of consensus, interpretations of the commandments showed wide ranges of variation, with little evidence of consensus.
Theorists point out that memes which replicate the most effectively spread best, and some memes may replicate effectively even when they prove detrimental to the welfare of their hosts.[5]
In contrast, the concept of genetics gained concrete evidence with the discovery of the biological functions of DNA. In the context of the exact sciences, memetics suffers in comparison because, unlike the idea of genes, memes do not necessarily have or need a concrete medium in order to transfer.
[edit] Transmission
Life-forms can transmit information both vertically (from parent to child, via replication of genes) and horizontally (through viruses and other means).
Despite the subjects' own expectations of consensus, interpretations of the commandments showed wide ranges of variation, with little evidence of consensus.
By linking altruism with religious affiliation, religious memes can proliferate more quickly because people perceive that they can reap societal as well as personal rewards.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
His theory of "cultural software" maintained that memes form narratives, networks of cultural associations, metaphoric and metonymic models, and a variety of different mental structures.
* Jan, Steven: The Memetics of Music: A Neo-Darwinian View of Musical Structure and Culture (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2007)
* Kelly, Kevin (1994), Out of control: the new biology of machines, social systems and the economic world, Boston: Addison-Wesley, pp. 360, ISBN 0-201-48340-8
* Lynch, Aaron (1996), Thought contagion: how belief spreads through society, New York: BasicBooks, pp. 208, ISBN 0-465-08467-2
* Post, Stephen Garrard; Underwood, Lynn G; Schloss, Jeffrey P Garrar...
replicate
