Re: What are memes made of?

From: Lloyd Robertson (hawkeye@rongenet.sk.ca)
Date: Mon Mar 06 2000 - 23:02:54 GMT

  • Next message: Joe E. Dees: "Re: What are memes made of?" 

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Date: Mon, 06 Mar 2000 17:02:54 -0600
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk, memetics@mmu.ac.uk
From: Lloyd Robertson <hawkeye@rongenet.sk.ca>
Subject: Re: What are memes made of?
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    At 01:33 PM 20/02/00 -0600, Joe E. Dees wrote:
    >>
    >What is genetic is not memetic. Period. Finis. Q.E.D. End of
    >sentence. This assertion is not circular; it is a single, simple, and
    >irrefutable definitional statement of apodictic and irretrievable fact.
    >Memes are not genes, which are not memes. Got it? If you don't,
    >your proposed "memetic" ontology will be worse than useless
    >(although a genetics class may get some adulterated mileage from
    >it).
    Hold on a moment Joe, it's not quite that simple. Yes, birds have a genetic
    disposition to birdsong but, as Chomsky and others have shown, humans have
    a genetic disposition to language. Surely the differences are one of
    degree, not one of kind. Isn't it a truism that all things memetic are
    built on a genetic base? Given all that, if the capacity to language leads
    to memetic evolution, why could the same not apply to birdsong?
    Intentionality you say? I'm sure the bird "intends" to sing just like we
    "intend" to language.

    Lloyd

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