Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id LAA14861 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Tue, 11 Dec 2001 11:02:31 GMT From: "Lawrence DeBivort" <debivort@umd5.umd.edu> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> Subject: RE: Wilkins on the meme:engram relation Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2001 05:58:40 -0500 Message-ID: <NEBBKOADILIOKGDJLPMAIEMLCIAA.debivort@umd5.umd.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) Importance: Normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2919.6600 In-Reply-To: <77898B3A-E793-11D5-88AB-003065B4D1F0@wehi.edu.au> Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
But John, 'cultural Darwinism' implies that mutation and natural selection
are the only things at work in cultural evolution. We are in a position, as
a species, to go beyond that, and some of us use the term 'meme' to refer to
an element involved in going beyond that. This is why I offer from time to
time this somewhat different definition: a meme is a langauaged idea/belief,
embedded of a linguistic architechture that provides it with
self-disseminating and self-defending properties. This definition allows for
the possibility that such memes can be consciously designed and launched.
Cheers, and good progress on the dissertation.
Lawrence
> The whole neologism of meme is exactly what Aaron says - a distraction.
> I would rather we referred to this whole thing as cultural Darwinism (I
> would have said cultural evolution, but that has too many connotations
> from the turn of the 20th century), which - if one has read one's
> Ewald - includes epidemiological models.
>
> Aaron, I promise at some unspecified future time to read your essay in
> detail. Possibly after the PhD thesis is in.
> --
> John S Wilkins
> PhD candidate, species concepts
> History and Philosophy of Science, jointly with Botany
> The University of Melbourne, Australia
> http://www.users.bigpond.com/thewilkins/darwiniana.html
>
>
> ===============================================================
> This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
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> see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
===============================================================
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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