RE: meaning in memetics

From: Wade T.Smith (wade_smith@harvard.edu)
Date: Thu Feb 17 2000 - 21:12:17 GMT

  • Next message: Richard Brodie: "RE: meaning in memetics" 

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Subject: RE: meaning in memetics
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2000 16:12:17 -0500
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From: "Wade T.Smith" <wade_smith@harvard.edu>
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    On 02/17/00 15:10, Richard Brodie said this-

    >Please argue your claim that they are genetic adaptations. Not
    >the TENDENCY to have religions, but the particular religions themselves.

    The very fact that there _are_ a plethora of religions (from different
    environments) argues for adaptation from a specific tendency. Just as
    there are any number of bird songs, and any number of housing styles, and
    clothing styles. Culture is always and forever an adaptation.

    But I am not arguing that a memetic analyzation is not valid, indeed, it
    may well be the only way to show what actually _is_ being adapted to and
    from.

    What function of communication (or territorialness, or power, or
    ignorance) gives rise to chain letters? The actual spread of chain
    letters, is, IMHO, irrelevant and only peripherally interesting.

    Then again-

    >Common examples of cultural phenomena well explained by memetics and not by
    >genetics:

    - define your "well-explained". I'm not at all convinced memetics has
    'explained' anything, and I am much more convinced it can only analyze,
    albeit analyze usefully, such phenomena.

    - Wade

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