From: derek gatherer (dgatherer2002@yahoo.co.uk)
Date: Thu 05 Jun 2003 - 13:43:20 GMT
Article
The Evolution of a ‘Memeplex’ in Late Mozart:
Replicated Structures in Pamina's ‘Ach ich fühl's’
Journal of the Royal Musical Association, 2003,
vol. 128, no. 1, pp. 30-70(41)
Jan S.[1]
[1]The University of Huddersfield. s.b.jan@hud.ac.uk
Abstract:
‘Memetics’, a concept most elegantly expounded by
Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene, asserts that
human culture consists of a multitude of units
transmitted between individuals by imitation and
subject to evolutionary pressures. Such particles,
‘memes’, are broadly analogous to the genes of
biological transmission. Four late pieces of Mozart's,
including Pamina's aria ‘Ach ich fühl's’ from Die
Zauberflöte, are examined in terms of the meme concept
and a conglomeration, or ‘memeplex’, consisting of
seven memes is identified within them. The nature of
the musical memeplex, in this specific case and also
more generally, is considered, particularly from the
perspective of its location at different levels of the
structural hierarchy. The evolutionary history of some
of Mozart's memes is examined with reference to
selected passages from works of the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries. Finally, relationships between
the musical memes under investigation and memes in the
verbal-conceptual realm are explored.
Memetics and innovation: profit through balanced meme
management
European Journal of Innovation Management, 1
February 2003, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 111-117(7)
Pech R.J.
Abstract:
One of the major driving forces behind a firm's
success can be attributed to its meme management.
Memes, analogous to the biological gene, are
self-replicating. They represent the knowledge, views,
perceptions, and beliefs communicated from person to
person. In a business context, memes can be used to
manage market perceptions as well as managing the
views a firm has of itself. If a firm focuses too
persistently on replicating a specific product meme,
and by its singularly unyielding focus fails to
innovate, a competitor may obliterate it with a
disruptive leap in product development. The former
firm has failed because of its lack of flexibility and
its inability to adapt to a product or market's
ongoing evolutionary process. Discusses the example of
Rip Curl, the Australian surf-wear giant, and how it
has developed and managed three memes that are central
to Rip Curl's product success as well as the company's
innovative operations.
How do we learn from each other? Memetics as a new
view of human nature
Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 1 June 2002,
vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 125-130(6)
Barnett S.A.
Abstract:
Since 1859 influential attempts have been made to fit
the peculiarities of the human species into a
'Darwinian' frame. The most prominent have portrayed a
human nature fixed by naturally selected genes. A more
recent, alternative system is based on units called
'memes', analogous to genes. Memes include concepts
and practices and are described as moving directly
from mind to mind, as a result of imitation. They are
also said to be selfish, to reproduce themselves, and
to be subject to a process similar to natural
selection. In its most extreme form, memetics reduces
a human being to a 'memeplex' evolved for the benefit
of memes. Ideas and skills do not, however, evolve
merely by competition or by a form of natural
selection. Imitation does not provide an account of
how we learn from each other, and still less of social
change, for this often arises from dissent and
originality. Memetics also ignores the complexities of
language, and it conspicuously disregards the
elaborate exchanges during the crucial activity of
teaching. Nonetheless, memetics has made an advance by
turning away from the current obsession with genes,
and by provoking interdisciplinary debates about
humanity as a 'political animal'. If memetics can
allow that human beings are argumentative and
sometimes rational, it is possible to suggest ways in
which it can generate fruitful studies.
Evolutionary Theology and God–Memes: Explaining
Everything or Nothing
Zygon, December 2002, vol. 37, no. 4, pp.
775-788(14)
Poulshock J. [1]
[1] Tokyo Christian University email:
naphtali@ling.ed.ac.uk
Abstract:
It is not uncommon for Darwinists and memeticists to
speculate not only that god–memes (cultural units for
belief in a god) evolved as maladaptive traits but
also that these memes do not correspond to anything
real. However, a counter–Darwinian argument exists
that some god–memes evolved as adaptive traits and did
so with a metaphysical correspondence to reality.
Memeticists cannot disallow these positive claims,
because the rules they would use to disallow them
would also disallow their negative claims. One must
either accept that positive Darwinian theological
claims can fall within the bounds of science (and
therefore be judged on their explanatory merits alone)
or must disallow both sets of arguments, including any
claims that god–memes fail to correspond to reality.
Given that many Darwinists do not appear to accept a
modest version of science that avoids negative
metaphysical claims, precedence exists in memetic and
Darwinian discourse for making positive metaphysical
claims as well.
Keywords: atheism; Susan Blackmore; Richard Dawkins;
faith–memes; god–memes; memeplex; memes; memetics;
metaphysics; methodological naturalism;
noncorrespondence to reality (NCR); positive
correspondence to reality (PCR); religion; science;
science–meme; theism; theology
Memetics: a new paradigm for understanding customer
behaviour?
Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 12 June 2002,
vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 162-167(6)
Williams R.
Abstract:
Looks at memetics, a new science of memes (a unit of
cultural material propagated by an imitation process).
Examines its origins and attempts to show its
significance for the business audience in relation to
understanding customer behaviour. Concludes that
memetics is still in its infancy and, because of this,
it still has philosophical and methodological issues
that need to be addressed before it can be considered
to be a new paradigm for understanding customer
behaviour.
Keywords: Paradigms; Consumer Behaviour
Brand positioning: meme's the word
Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 14 August 2002,
vol. 20, no. 5, pp. 307-312(6)
Marsden P.
Abstract:
This paper illustrates how memetics, the Darwinian
science of culture and creativity, can be used to
enhance brand positioning. Using a simple but powerful
technique of memetic analysis, it is shown how
marketers can unpack how brands are actually
positioned in the minds of consumers in terms of their
component memes, that is, their "genes of meaning". A
demonstration of the validity and reliability of
memetic analysis is given through an investigation of
how the notion of "healthy living" is positioned in
the minds of consumers. The practical utility of
memetic analysis in brand positioning is discussed,
and the possibility is raised of using the analytical
tool to increase profitability by "memetically
modifying" brands with true, unique and compelling
consumer values.
Keywords: Brands; Positioning
Exposure versus Susceptibility in the Epidemiology of
"Everyday" Beliefs
Journal of Cognition and Culture, 1 June 2002, vol.
2, no. 2, pp. 113-157(45)
Aunger R.
Abstract:
This paper shows that epidemiology, an approach
developed to study the social communication of
biological information, can be instructively applied
to the diffusion of "endemic" cultural beliefs. In
particular, I examine whether exposure to information
(as determined by physical and social access), or
susceptibility to belief (a variety of cognitive
biases underlying belief adoption) is more important
in determining the distribution of food taboos in an
oral society from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Matrix regression techniques are used on optimally
scaled cultural similarity data to infer which social
and psychological characteristics of the participating
individuals are correlated with a higher probability
of taboo transmission between them. Results indicate
that, despite a lack of mechanized transportation,
access to information in this population is nearly
universal. Constraints on belief adoption rather than
on information flow are much more important in
determining the intra-cultural distribution of food
taboos. At least for one class of taboo, belief
susceptibility is a function of an individual's social
role rather than any intrinsic quality of the
individual or the believability ("virulence") of the
cultural trait. Nevertheless, the processes underlying
the dissemination of both cultural traits and
pathogens, considered as replicating units of
information, appear close enough to justify using
epidemiology as a common framework for investigating
cultural and biological diffusion.
Keywords: cultural epidemiology; memetics; food
taboos; democratic republic of congo (zaire); social
norms
Pain and Folk Theory
Brain and Mind, August 2000, vol. 1, no. 2, pp.
209-222(14)
Chapman C.R.[1]; Nakamura Y.[1]; Chapman C.N.[1]
[1]University of Washington, Department of
Anesthesiology, Seattle, Washington
Abstract:
Pain is not a primitive sensory event but rather a
complex perception and a process by which a person
interacts with the internal and external environments,
constructs meaning, and engages in action. Because
folk beliefs are central to meaning, folk concepts of
pain play multiple causal roles in a pain patient's
interaction with health care providers and others. In
every case, the notion of pain is linked to a
goal-directed behavior that is useful to the person.
The wide variation in concepts of pain across
individuals suffering with pain underscores the
richness and complexity of the pain experience. In
some cases involving chronic pain, the patient may
form a maladaptive cluster of behaviors around the
concept of pain. Patient beliefs and expectations are
an important part of many chronic pain syndromes, and
patients can benefit from intervention directed at
revising the individual's folk model of pain. Memetics
offers a framework for identifying the memes that
patients hold and determining whether patient memes
fit or clash with provider memes.
Keywords: pain; medicine; folk theory; consciousness;
memetics
The business of memes: memetic possibilities for
marketing and management
Management Decision, 4 May 2000, vol. 38, no. 4,
pp. 272-279(8)
Williams R.[1]
[1] Dundee Graduate School of Management, Scotland
Abstract:
Introduces the business community to the new science
of memes. The roots of the meme concept from Richard
Dawkins’ original work in the area of biology to the
social (business) world are outlined, and the value of
its study (memetics) proposed. One claim from memetics
is that it can help provide an understanding of the
human mind. This claim is explored within the context
of advertising and management theory. The conclusion
from this project to operationalise the meme concept
for a business audience is, however, mixed. Whilst
memetics has an intuitive appeal to it, much more is
still needed before mankind’s mind may be understood,
“filled” and manipulated at the discretion of
advertisers and management thinkers using a memetic
understanding.
Keywords: Marketing; Advertising; Theory; Psychology
Being scientific about our selves
Journal of Consciousness Studies, 1999, vol. 6, no.
4, pp. 85-98(14)
Midgley M.
1a Collingwood Terrace, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE2 2JP,
UK.
Abstract:
We cannot really understand other people unless we
make some serious effort to understand ourselves as
well. This is well known in ordinary life, but it sets
a problem for any psychology which aims to be
‘scientific’ by the narrow standards which define that
term today. Those standards have sharply narrowed the
notion of ‘science’ to exclude reference to anything
subjective. By contrast, the older, wider concept of
it simply required disciplined, methodical thought,
which could of course be shown in many kinds of
enquiry (for instance history and language). The
current narrowing is perfectly acceptable in the
physical sciences but it cannot accommodate
psychology. This has become clear from the dismal
failure of behaviourism, which was carefully designed
to implement it. It is that failure that has made room
for the current upsurge of interest in consciousness.
This upsurge gives us an enormous opportunity for
better thinking. Yet we shall waste that opportunity
if we remain so obsessed with a narrow notion of what
constitutes ‘science’ that we merely go on devising
thought-systems which look vaguely scientific (as
behaviourism did) instead of ones that actually help
us to understand human life. A striking example of
such an etherial, quasi-scientific system may be seen
in ‘memetics'.
Memetics: a new paradigm for understanding customer
behaviour and influence
Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 10 December
1998, vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 363-368(6)
Marsden P.S.[1]
[1] D Phil Research Student, Graduate Research Centre
in the Social Sciences, University of Sussex,
Brighton, UK
Abstract:
The objective of this paper is to provide a
non-technical introduction to the science of memetics
and to suggest how this new discipline may be applied
to the design and development of effective marketing
campaigns. The technique is based on a neo-Darwinian
evolutionary model of information transmission that
may be used to explain and predict the
“infectiousness” of certain ideas and behaviours. It
is argued that traditional marketing theories based on
rational choice theory may rely on an impossible
homuncular psychology and it is suggested that a
viable alternative would be to understand customer
behaviour from a memetic perspective - the result of
contagion rather than conscious choice. From the
memetic paradigm the role of marketing communications
becomes one of designing and engineering infectious
“mind viruses” that will influence customer
perceptions and behaviour. Whilst memetics is still in
its infancy, it is suggested that memetic engineering
may provide a viable and effective complementary
framework to standard techniques for developing
successful marketing strategies.
Keywords: Consumer behaviour; Consumer marketing;
Influence; Marketing communications; Marketing
information systems; Marketing theory
The memetics of firms, entrepreneurship and the new
body politic: the memetics of the marketplace
Management Decision, 20 August 1997, vol. 35, no.
6, pp. 447-451(5)
Carney D.P.[1]; Williams R.[2]
[1] Independent Researcher, Baguley, Manchester, UK
[2] Lecturer, Sunderland University Business School,
Sunderland, UK
Abstract:
If business success were the elixir of life, there
have been, and will always be, many who claim to have
its formula. Each attempts to sell a new generation
this complex, ever-changing solution, and does so with
concepts and ideas which are, perhaps, inordinately
simplistic in relation to the problem, but which
nevertheless can be comprehended. Considers the
selling of solutions via abducted concepts and ideas
as entrepreneurship. It is a skill to be valued, but
it is not without its problems for the business
practitioner, as its outcome in terms of downsizing is
subsequently proving.
Keywords: Business strategy; Commodities; Downsizing;
Entrepreneurialism
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