Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id JAA28912 (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 09:21:58 GMT Date: Fri, 9 Feb 2001 08:35:51 +0000 To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: Re: Lamarkism (sic) and memetics Message-ID: <20010209083551.A1157@reborntechnology.co.uk> References: <F1159lHiu3fQtYdVzDp00001257@hotmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline User-Agent: Mutt/1.3.12i In-Reply-To: <F1159lHiu3fQtYdVzDp00001257@hotmail.com>; from ecphoric@hotmail.com on Thu, Feb 08, 2001 at 06:56:49PM -0500 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 06:56:49PM -0500, Scott Chase wrote:
> >
> >Seems to me one of the greatest benefits of memetics is that it offers
> >a NON-Lamarkian explanation of the fact that acquired human behavioural
> >traits often appear to be inherited.
> >
> >
> The issue of Lamarckism aside, does "memetics" offer a convincing
> explanation? Is it supportable? Is it merely the pouring of old wine into
> new plastic bottles?
Memetics, like genetics before it (and especially Dawkinsian
neo-Darwinism) offers a paradigm shift, a profound change in perspective.
Ideas, like organisms, still thrive or fail to do so for particular
reasons that can be, and in some cases are better, discussed in
non-genetic and non-memetic terms. This is where physiology, psychology,
etc come into the picture. Memetics offers no new reasons for ideas
etc to survive or to disappear, it just offers an extremely elegant
way to think about the process in general terms, at an abstract level.
In a sense, it is "merely" a repackaging, but just like bottling wine,
it can be extremely useful. Anyone think we shouldn't bottle wine?
-- 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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