Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id JAA28895 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Fri, 9 Feb 2001 09:21:50 GMT Date: Fri, 9 Feb 2001 09:18:19 +0000 To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: Re: Darwinian evolution vs memetic evolution Message-ID: <20010209091819.C1178@reborntechnology.co.uk> References: <20010208201954.AAA9140%camailp.harvard.edu@[128.103.125.215]> <3A8328F4.73C83319@pacbell.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline User-Agent: Mutt/1.3.12i In-Reply-To: <3A8328F4.73C83319@pacbell.net>; from bspight@pacbell.net on Thu, Feb 08, 2001 at 03:17:08PM -0800 From: Robin Faichney <robin@reborntechnology.co.uk> Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
On Thu, Feb 08, 2001 at 03:17:08PM -0800, Bill Spight wrote:
> Dear Wade,
>
> > The mechanism itself, the lamarckian mechanism, has been shown, I would
> > think with certitude, not to exist in nature at all. It is a skyhook, to
> > borrow Dennett's term. It is an invented quality rising from the
> > perceptual traps we fall into when we see patterns.
> >
>
> That is because, with genes, the germ line is insulated from the
> environment. It is the phenotype that adapts and learns from the
> environment. These adaptations are not transferred to the genotype.
> (There are apparently some exceptions, however.)
>
> But there is no germ line with memes. "Play it, Sam, for old times'
> sake," is altered by the environment to "Play it again, Sam," and the
> alteration is passed on. That's Lamarckian evolution.
Your logic works either way. If there is no germ line, no memeotype/
phemotype dichotomy, then is no way to distinguish between Lamarckism and
ordinary mutation. In which case, for the sake of simplicity (Ockham's
razor), we should consider it ordinary mutation.
-- Robin Faichney robin@reborntechnology.co.uk=============================================================== This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing) see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
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