Re: Logic

From: Mark Mills (mmills@htcomp.net)
Date: Fri Aug 10 2001 - 15:06:58 BST

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Date: Fri, 10 Aug 2001 09:06:58 -0500
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
From: Mark Mills <mmills@htcomp.net>
Subject: Re: Logic
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    Ted,

    At 10:54 PM 8/9/2001 -0700, you wrote:
    >When he first coined the term, Dawkins located "memes" in the brain. If the
    >brain is reducible to genes, then memes are functions of genes. But if the
    >brain is informed by past, similar brains, then memes are patterns of
    >neurotransmission that follow habitually from previous, similar patterns.

    Interesting.

    As I read this, you are stating:

    1. if the brain is reducible to genes, then memes are a function of genes
    2. if the brain is informed by the pre-existing brains (not only genes, I
    assume), then memes are 'patterns of neurotransmission (whatever that is)
    that follow habitually from previous and similar patterns.

    I'm wondering why the need for 'similar patterns' is inserted. Surely, if
    you make the distinction between genetically informed states and 'not'
    genetically informed, there must be a brain state 'informed' by such
    natural phenomena as light/dark, hot cold, positive charge/negative charge,
    etc. Is a 'pattern of neurotransmission' a meme if a similar pattern is
    verified in another brain, and something else (enviro-eme) if not?

    I hold that genes and memes are differentiated by substrate, not
    'functional role'.

    Mark

    http://www.htcomp.net/markmills

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