RE: Epigenetic rules, archetypes, memes, culturgens

From: Scott Chase (ecphoric@hotmail.com)
Date: Fri 20 Feb 2004 - 03:31:38 GMT

  • Next message: Keith Henson: "Re: memetics-digest V1 #1480"

    >From: Julio Varela <jav65@bellsouth.net>
    >Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
    >To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
    >Subject: Epigenetic rules, archetypes, memes, culturgens
    >Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 11:52:11 -0500
    >
    >I am trying to track down credible scholarship that compares and contrasts
    >the epigenetic rules of Lumsden and Wilson with Jung's archetype concept.
    >Based on the respective rationales of Lumsden and Wilson, on the one hand,
    >and Jung, on the other, would it be fair to say that archetypal images and
    >symbols, memes, and culturgens recur in cultural artifacts because
    >archetypes and epigenetic rules heighten the probabilities that these
    >images and symbols will become expressed in some form? If anyone out there
    >knows of someone who has tackled this question, please point me in the
    >right direction Thanks in advance,
    >
    >
    Julio, I see that you go to a community college. You might try asking at their library's reference desk what psychological or behavioral science journal databeses are available to you as a student and try some keyword searches to see what you can come up with and if an article, if any are found, isn't available via text, maybe you can order via interlibrary loan. This could be a very fruitful topic and maybe you can break new ground. I share an interest, but I'm presently fertilizing other pastures.

    Off the top of my head Wilson was rather provocative in _Consilience_ along the lines of the relations of archetypes and epigenetic rules. See pages 223-4 of the hardcover edition or find archetypes in the index of a copy that you can secure, if you aren't already familar with this mention of archetypes by Wilson.

    Have you read Anthony Stevens? He tries to ground Jungian psychology in sociobiology and more recently evolutionary psychology. I can't recall if he talks about epigenetic rules or culturgens off the top of my head (it has been a LONG time since I've read his stuff). He contributed some stuff to a book called _Evolution of the Psyche_ edited by Rosen and Luebbert which also contains a contribution by none other than David Buss (guilt by asociation?). Maybe Keith Henson is familiar with Stevens. I'd try taking Stevens with a grain of salt, since he is a...ummmm...Jungian. Jungians are a little quirky, given their fascination with meaningful coincidence and the occult, but there are rare gems in Jung's thought that can be excised from the mud of wantonly esoteric garbage. I used to be more conversant in Jung and familar with where all the skeletons (aka intellectual fossils) are buried.

    My present interest in Durkheim's "collective representations" has a Jungian AND memetic tie-in, but I'll have to beat that one into the ground thoroughly before I get back into Jungian sociobiology.

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