Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id HAA27329 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Tue, 18 Dec 2001 07:24:08 GMT From: <philipjonkers@prodigy.net> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Message-Id: <AA-BB4FF11CCDA21D9FFDDECE7B77A4BA44-ZZ@maillink1.prodigy.net> Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2001 02:19:56 -0500 Subject: Re: Memetic Engineering v/s Cultural Evolution Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
>
>Hi all
>I came across the concept of memes some years ago in
an examination of
>cultural development as predicated by elements
encoded into cultural
>narratives. My thesis views cultures as the products
of memetic
>engineering rather than a 'natural selection', or
evolution process as many
>of you suggest.
>In this context I define a meme as the underlying
code which identifies an
>artefact of culture as valid or invalid within a
culture. A cultural
>artefact is anything from a thought to a tea-pot
which is produced by a
>culture.
>For example, a Western formative narrative may begin
with "Once upon a time
>there was a poor Prince". This unremarkable
beginning assumes the
>acceptance of; linier time, material and hereditary
hierarchy, and would
>probably end with "And they lived happily ever
after". The normalising
>effect of this narrative excludes the artefacts of
non-compliant cultures
>in like manner to the way that a genetically created
physical body will
>identify and reject a splinter of wood.
>As you will understand the concepts which I am
discussing are more subtle
>than 'thought contagion'. In fact for a thought to
be contagious it must
>either be recognisable as valid or be able to invade
the cultural body To
>me memes are truly like the genes of culture. Each
artefact produced
>within a culture and every artefact of another
culture is judged for its
>acceptability or validity according to the code which
produces, maintains,
>defends and reproduces that culture.
>My thesis, (1999), examines the cultural narratives
of indigenous and
>non-indigenous Australians. In a nutshell I claim
that cultures are
>designed, and that their directions are predicated,
by the processes of
>sense-creation (i.e. makes sense or doesn't) which is
embedded in
>childhood, spiritual, historical and contemporary
narratives. In it I have
>attempted to 'map' a cultural meme (and - I did it
before the human gene
>was mapped). The interesting thing is that the 'meme
maps' for the two
>cultures are consistently different.
>My thesis is only at an honours level but if any of
you would like to read
>it E me and I will send it.
>Cheers Jeremy
>P. S. I may be a bit slow replying but don't worry
I'll get there.
Hi Jeremy, sounds like fun, please send it to me.
You should realize though that engineering has also
a significant trial-and-error component. Sometimes
a machine does what it is supposed to do, but
sometimes it doesn't. Although, the expertise and
prior knowledge of the engineers doesn't make
engineering a completely blind design process (such
as biological design) there is an inherently random
component present. This makes engineering also, to
some extent, an evolutionary design process.
Philip.
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