Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id UAA17127 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Tue, 22 Jan 2002 20:51:59 GMT X-Originating-IP: [194.117.133.84] From: "Steve Drew" <srdrew_1@hotmail.com> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: necessity of mental memes Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2002 20:47:41 +0000 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed Message-ID: <F75408Oh1pMuBeZVo2d0001d155@hotmail.com> X-OriginalArrivalTime: 22 Jan 2002 20:47:41.0132 (UTC) FILETIME=[08C778C0:01C1A386] Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Grant wrote:
What I dislike in the choice of the word "contagion" to describe the
passing
of information is the implication that the receiver has no choice but to
be
"infected" by the idea. It also has connotations of sickness and a
process
that leads to death. Most of the bacteria and a lot of the viruses that
invade our body do so harmlessly. Some are killers. But we have little
choice about catching the flu or HIV. I don't believe this is the case
with
memes. Although some memes, if taken up by a large enough number of
people,
can lead to sickness within a society and the death of many of its
members,
the overall effect of memes is to make the society stronger and allow us
to
adapt to a changing environment that is changing too quickly for genetic
evolution to keep up with. It seems to me the terms "virus" and
"contagion"
were chosen to create fear and controversey. They are loaded with
emotional
baggage from historical attempts to survive plagues and their aftermath.
Emotion laden terminology should be kept out of the study of culture and
mind if we are to reach objective conclusions about them.
Grant
I was under the impression that the level of choice in accepting or
rejecting memes is one of the things that is still very much undeceided.
Although i agree that contagion and virus are emotionally charged, i am hard
pressed to think of something that could replace them. For me memes and
acceptance/ rejection run through a range from choice to no choice, and the
ability of various people to accept/reject varies th same. For the no choice
my idea is that the meme in question may fit with your own collection of
memes very closely that you accept them without the necessary scrutiny
that something that conflicted with them would command.
if i understand Susan Blackmore's book correctly, then she believes we have
no choice whatsoever.
steve
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