Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id TAA12308 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Tue, 12 Sep 2000 19:52:28 +0100 From: <LJayson@aol.com> Message-ID: <80.8af96d.26efd4ba@aol.com> Date: Tue, 12 Sep 2000 14:49:30 EDT Subject: Article, A Solipsistic View On Memetics To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk CC: Kenneth.Van.Oost@village.uunet.be Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Mailer: AOL 5.0 for Windows sub 117 Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Part 5
The solution to the problem is as follows:- each object is nothing more than a
set of qualities ( idit Robert Clewley) ( memetic lineages).
For example, the blue colour of the sky is a memetic lineage that tells my
mind
to perceive a certain instance of the colour blue. In combination with
notions of
other memetic lineages, defining sun/ walking/ casual dressing/ smell/ good
vibrations/ etc..the blue sky is defined in my mind as a nice sunny day.
If this is so, you can argue what about the dark sky then on a rainy day !?
Then my mind won 't pin point itself at the blue sky ( there is any) but
shall
refer itself to other qualities of the environment.
That is, the abscence of direct sunlight, lesser people are walking about, no
children are playing in the street. I see umbrella 's, I notice the first
raindrops
on my window.
Another focus point of my brain results ultemally in another set of
solipsistic
memetical lineages which my brain uses to give me an image of the ' reality '
out there and that goes for any aspect of any situation...
Len:
Would you say that memes are no more than inert stimuli acting
on a live, dynamic brain that is genetically capable of creating
its own unique images?
Even so, it may be a bright sunny day, the sky may be blue but if I got a
headache, my brain won 't pin point itself onto to blue sky. The pain in my
head is somewhat ' closer ' at hand. MY brain pin points itself onto meme-
tic lineages which are in a sense enforced by the mind itself_memes in order
to ptµropagate themselves will protect themselves from the hazzards which
their host can encounter on his way throughout life.
Len:
Does this mean that at any point in time, there is a focus-hierarchy of
memes based on combinations of inner and outer stimuli?
That is, memes will ease the pain, because eventually the host will meet
someone to talk to and tells him he stood up this morning with a headache.
Of course, on the other hand, the pain can remain for the whole day, the
purpose
for that has to be found in the solipsistic/ egoistic nature of those memes...
Len:
It would seem that pain is the physiological response to perhaps
the inflamation of certain brain tissue. Would the derivation of a
headache really be based on the solipsistic/ egoistic nature of
memes? I could picture a young infant screaming due to a severe
bang on the head without the benefit of memes to furnish him with
a learned response.
So in order to get ' change ' it is simple due to the fact that minor
irregularities
in the images which the brain exhibite in front of me results in changed
perceptions of those memetic lineages which make up my ' reality '.
Change is inflicted upon me by under which definition certain objects/
environ-
ment/ places/ persons/ subject/ etc...are in that particular moment in time
per-
ceived by the brain.
Remerber, the brain can 't hold the imagetry of the outside world as an
accurate
picture_there only exist snapshots of it !!
Len:
Excellent statement. It would seem to be the basis of human memetic
evolution.
On second thought, it may not primarily be the changes in fidelity
that create material progress, but rather the ability of new memes to
combine with stored memes in the brain and evolve into unique
memeplexes.
When you do see a beautiful woman for the first time your brain will define
her
as in shape/ form/ mass/ colour of her hair/ figure/ smell.
But the second time around, after your brain had to ' re- construct ' her,
her
image will be defined along those references ( same size f. e ) but your mind
will
have been drawn to something slight different ( f. e the colour of her eyes)
and
a whole new set of memetic lineagfes will start up....C H A N G E !!!
Len:
I agree. Over the whole course of the relationship, the brain is
serially reconstructing her. (Not always in a flattering way. :-)
It is important to note that due to the argument as noticed as above, it is
shown
that change is in fact variation ( with each glance our brain have another
focus-
point, it varies along a combination of memetic lineages ( state of mind,
envi-
ronmental matrix ', perceptions due to all our sense organs etc).
Then do we have selection !?
YES, from the conclusions drawn so far, we can say that each time we ' look'
at the outside world, our brain ' selects '/ ' reacts ' upon the appropiate
mememtic
lineages in order to give me an image of the ' reality ' out there.
It is in some sense our brain which ' selects ' the images exhibited in
front
of us, our brain ' replicates ' situations along lineages of memory and
there-
for varies how I perceive the outside world.
Len:
Well stated. The memes, in of themselves have no power, it is the brain
doing the work by its reactions to experienced meme stimuli. The manner
in which the brain perceives new meme stimuli is dependent on the gestalt
nature of its current storehouse of memes.
Our brain imitates in order to forfill its own tendency. The brain has to
imitate
those behaviourpatterns, those memes originating from of the ' other brains
'
in order to give me a successfull picture of the reality represented by
itself.
Len:
This universal imitation tendency would seem to be a genetic survival
mechanism.
The brain imitates those patterns in order to enforce those memetic lineages
which it acquires to create a decent perception of the outside world FOR ME !!
Len:
Perhaps this key point could be stated more clearly. I take it to mean
that each one of us creates our own reality in a way that is congruent with
his own genetic hardwiring. (Need help! Somehow I do not think that
this is quite what you had in mind.)
Thanks Kenneth.
For me, having a pathetic understanding of philosophical
concepts, Part 5 was the most meaningful section so far.
Best regards,
Len
End of part Five
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