Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id XAA28630 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Sun, 2 Dec 2001 23:26:56 GMT Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 10:22:27 +1100 Subject: Re: Wilkins on the meme:engram relation Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed From: John Wilkins <wilkins@wehi.edu.au> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit In-Reply-To: <F121wRC6HixqDCZx4FR0001e2ba@hotmail.com> Message-Id: <730EB241-E77B-11D5-88AB-003065B4D1F0@wehi.edu.au> X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.475) Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
On Monday, December 3, 2001, at 10:08 AM, Scott Chase wrote:
>> Evolutionary genes (replicators) and memes (also replicators)
>> are not the same as the physical entities that are usually their
>> instantiation. I am tending to see replicators as abstract entities
>> with
>> no causal role. In sum, they are bookkeeping entities, as Wimsatt once
>> said.
>>
> What about placeholders for future elaboration?
>
No. I believe that replicators are abstractions, and abstractions do not
have causal powers. What actually *happens* is thermodynamic transfer of
energy in the biology case and psychological and sociological
interaction in the cultural case. "Information" is just a way of
tracking and analysing data sets.
Kenneth, this goes for your friend's website (which, BTW, is a reworking
of stuff done by Brooks and Wiley, and which is, in my opinion, flawed
for the reason I give here).
-- John Wilkins Head Communication Services, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne Australia Personal page: <http://users.bigpond.com/thewilkins/darwiniana.html>=============================================================== 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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