Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id NAA15328 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Tue, 27 Nov 2001 13:49:29 GMT Subject: Re: A Question for Wade Date: Tue, 27 Nov 2001 08:42:43 -0500 x-sender: wsmith1@camail2.harvard.edu x-mailer: Claris Emailer 2.0v3, Claritas Est Veritas From: "Wade T.Smith" <wade_smith@harvard.edu> To: "memetics list" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Message-ID: <20011127134318.AAA23610@camailp.harvard.edu@[128.103.125.215]> Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
On 11/26/01 22:41, Joe Dees said this-
>I think that one of the prime possible benefits of the memetic perspective
>is that it promises to unite much theory and research found in other
>disciplines such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, political
>science, economics, etc., under a single overarching evolutionary paradigm
Yup. That is its attractiveness to me, and always has been.
>The use of the term 'meme' to talk about that element central to each
>which mutates, replicates, and is selected for/against is not necessary,
>but it works for me, and another term that serves the same purpose and
>refers to the same referent would have to be coined or definitionally
>modified (baggage-cleansed) for use, so why not use 'meme'?
I was going over Gatherer's little conversation starter in a more serious
way last night than I first skimmed over it, since it mattered not a
little in my own rethinking of terms and boundaries and empiric
possibilities, and much of the same 'why not use 'meme' came up there.
Not to mention the plethora of other points he makes far more cogently
than I have about limiting the use of it to Dawkins' first suggestion.
And then I found a mention of a paper by Benzon (who I think is
hereabouts) that unfortunately had a broken link, but that was making the
leap to limiting memes to actual artefacts, so, I must have seen that
before. So, there are a few heretics I can huddle with.
Not that I see any need for comfort, mind ya.
- Wade
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