Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id IAA10903 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Fri, 2 Jun 2000 08:38:45 +0100 Message-ID: <20000602073612.76760.qmail@hotmail.com> X-Originating-IP: [212.140.158.93] From: "Paul marsden" <paulsmarsden@hotmail.com> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: Re: Cui Bono Chuck? Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2000 00:36:12 PDT Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
>So perhaps you can explain to me why Aaron finds an advantage to memic
>theory in explaining birth rates?
Aaron is a vociferous defender of his own model, but the purchase or insight
that he offered was that in addition to being a product of
a) an ultimate rationale of inclusive genetic fitness
b) constraints and opportunities provided by economic relations
there is a third stance or perspective
c)in which cultural instructions may be understood as influencing fertility
levels.
Catholics do have more children than Protestants. Likewise, without
invoking cultural influences its damned difficult to explain blood donation
or any other anonymous charity – but a memetic theory of altruism can do
this. See Paul Allison’s excellent account of this.
Although most social scientists would boggle at all this and say of course
culture has an influence independent of genes (and more problematically
economic relations), unless, that is, they are into crude genetic
reductionism/determinism or economic determinism, but what memetics does is
to bring a particular organising principle and focus into cultural dynamics:
SPECIFICALLY – SOME CULTURE SELF-EMPLACES, THAT IS, ITS EFFECTS ARE
CONDUCIVE TO ITS OWN REPRODUCTION. IN OTHER WORDS, MANIFESTING A CULTURAL
INSTRUCTION BEHAVIOURALLY CAN MAKE THE RECURRENCE OF THAT CULTURAL
INSTRUCTION MORE LIKELY BECAUSE THE ENVIRONMENT HAS BEEN MODIFIED IN SUCH A
WAY TO ALLOW FOR THIS CHANGE.
And no, this is not a panacea for social science, it is just one more way of
looking at some aspects of the world to try and make sense of what is going
on – there are many ways to skin a cat. Maybe this memetic stance doesn’t
help you, but it has helped me understand suicide, and the peculiar
phenomenon of suicide contagion (suicide levels jump by up to 10% following
media coverage of celebrity suicides)
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