Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id XAA15932 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Fri, 8 Jun 2001 23:28:05 +0100 X-Sender: rrecchia@mail.clarityconnect.com (Unverified) X-Mailer: Windows Eudora Light Version 1.5.2 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk From: Ray Recchia <rrecchia@mail.clarityconnect.com> Subject: Re: USA Today - interview with Gugatkin and de Waal on animal culture Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2001 18:29:15 -0400 Message-ID: <1220083141-7222721@mail.clarityconnect.com> Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
At 11:02 AM 6/8/2001 -0400, you wrote:
>
>
>
>
>>From: "Scott Chase" <ecphoric@hotmail.com>
>>Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
>>To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
>>Subject: Re: USA Today - interview with Gugatkin and de Waal on animal
>>culture
>>Date: Fri, 08 Jun 2001 10:23:21 -0400
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>From: "Wade T.Smith" <wade_smith@harvard.edu>
>>>Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
>>>To: "memetics list" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
>>>Subject: Re: USA Today - interview with Gugatkin and de Waal on animal
>>>culture
>>>Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2001 09:37:05 -0400
>>>
>>>On 06/08/01 09:12, Scott Chase said this-
>>>
>>> >The big problem would not be
>>> >in using the word "culture", but employing this term in a way that
>>> >anthropocentrically places humans within a charmed circle, removed from
>>>the
>>> >"lowly" animals.
>>>
>>>Granted, but, that anthropocentricity is where the meaning of 'culture'
>>>_came_ from, not the realms of behaviorism or biology. (Well, 'culture'
>>>in biology means something quite different, although, yeah, the
>>>Backstreet Boys and MTV are sorts of germs, in their own way....)
>>>
>>Well, I'm grappling with this word "culture" and trying to see it in
>>different lights, thinking WAY outside the box and trying to clip the
>>pro-human biased roots. I could forgive you for mentioning behaviorism,
>>but
>>I could have done without another exposure to the "Backstreet Boys" virus
>>this early in the morning.
>>>
>>>Culture can easily become 'artistic behavior', 'social behavior', 'tribal
>>>behavior', etc, with no harm to its roots, its expression, or its
>>>homology.
>>>
>>Maybe sticking with the baseline of "non-genetic behavioral transmission"
>>would be the better option and then working from there one might consider
>>all the possible variations on this theme, "memes" included.
>>
>>Culture does have some deep seated human connotations when applied to
>>behavior.
>>>
>>>Yes?
>>>
>>I dunno. I'll see what develops on this thread and go from there.
>>>
>>>Shouldn't we leave culture in its petri dish?
>>>
>>Well there's a difference between microbial populations living in cultural
>>media (maybe we should leave media to the microbiologists too?...sorry
>>Vincent) and the phenomenon of "non-genetic behavioral transmission" or the
>>more typical charmed circle of "accumulated knowledge, customs, beliefs,
>>arts, and other human products that are socially transmitted over the
>>generations" (from page 756 of the Campbell, Mitchell, and Reece's
>>_Biology:
>>Concepts & Connections_. 1997. Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. New York). This
>>comes from an introductory biology text.
>>
>>
>>
>My microbiology text (Brock, Madigan, Martinko, and Parker's _Biology of
>Microorganisms_. 1994. Prentice Hall. Englewood Cliffs, NJ) defines culture
>in terms of a strain in a medium where the microbial population in a medium
>definition I used above comes from Tammy S Race Mc Cormick's _The Essentials
>of Microbiology_ (1995. Research and Education Association. Piscataway, NJ).
>Both books cast media in terms of nutrient solution or broth.
>
>I wonder how media studies defines "media".
>
In 'The Imitation Factor' Dugatkin cites to a paper which found 164
different definitions of culture. A.L. Kroeber and C. Kluckhohn, "Culture,
a critical review of the concepts and definitions", American Archeology and
Ethnology 47:1-223 (1952)
===============================================================
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
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Jun 08 2001 - 23:31:55 BST