Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id MAA02481 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Mon, 18 Jun 2001 12:50:02 +0100 Message-ID: <2D1C159B783DD211808A006008062D3101745F14@inchna.stir.ac.uk> From: Vincent Campbell <v.p.campbell@stir.ac.uk> To: "'memetics@mmu.ac.uk'" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> Subject: RE: La memetique a-t-elle change votre vie / Has memetics changed your life ? Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2001 12:36:39 +0100 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2650.21) Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Filter-Info: UoS MailScan 0.1 [D 1] Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Hi Pascal,
Apologies for my pathetic efforts at french in my anwser to your message to
me. As I said there, try Angela Ryan, she's the fluent one. I know Bourdieu
in translation. Your English is good, so don't worry about that.
Anyway, in answer to your question- I must admit to having had a bit of,
well an epiphany I suppose, when reading Blackmore's book. I'd heard of
memes before, although I don't remember where I heard it first (I know it
wasn't Dawkins), but reading Blackmore's ideas about the self being a
memeplex was really thought-provoking. I've probably back-tracked
significantly since then in terms of the personal impact of memetics on me,
almost entirely due to the debates on this list (and a bit due to reading
others on the subject like Brodie and Lynch). It was probably Derek
Gatherer's article in the journal about the the problem with the
virus/contagion metaphor that that has been the clincher so far in making me
more skeptical.
I now feel about memetics the same way I do about UFOs- it would be really
nice if it were true, but there are problems that have yet to be
successfully resolved IMHO.
Vincent
> ----------
> From: Pascal Jouxtel
> Reply To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> Sent: Saturday, June 16, 2001 9:00 am
> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
> Subject: La memetique a-t-elle change votre vie / Has memetics
> changed your life ?
>
> Hello, friends.
>
> My name is Pascal. I am a french memeticist (are their any others ?). I
> try
> to write as good an english as I can, but if any of you are
> french-speaking,
> (as I have noticed Vincent is, on the Bourdieu issue), they might
> occasionnally help me convey some subtleties. The job I live on (since I
> am
> not a university researcher) is consulting for large companies, and
> especially fostering mass cultural and behavioral changes. But this is not
> today's issue.
>
> I would like to make a quick survey among people interested in memetics.
> If
> you care to give a short answer, this will allow me to make the question
> more precise.
>
> My hypothesis is that once you start thinking memetics, your world view
> cannot be the same anymore. If you follow Susan Blackmore's reasoning,
> your
> idea of the self is changed. If you follow Richard Brodie (Hi, Richard if
> you are reading this) it even can lead you to a further development of
> your
> personality.
> You probably have noticed that most authors on the subject end their books
> by a very dizzying 'facing-mirrors-like' reflexion about 'how we are going
> to live, now that we know '.
>
> So to come to the point, my question is :
>
> 'Since you started to know about memetics, how has your inner life changed
> ?
> Do you behave differently ? Do you relate to others differently ? Do you
> practice 'weeding' ?'
>
> Thank you for any contributions.
> Pascal
> A bientot sur / see you soon on
> www.contagions.com (french memetics website)
> Tell your friends / parlez-en à vos amis
>
>
> ===============================================================
> 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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