Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id AAA02106 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Mon, 28 Jan 2002 00:52:54 GMT Message-ID: <002401c1a6f8$9f29c6e0$5e2ffea9@oemcomputer> From: "Philip Jonkers" <philipjonkers@prodigy.net> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> References: <200201261607.g0QG70B00976@terri.harvard.edu> Subject: Re: sex and the single meme Date: Sat, 26 Jan 2002 21:05:28 -0900 Organization: Prodigy Internet Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200 Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Philip:
> >Consider the memes:
> >1. Terrorism.
> >2. Terrorism causes pain and grief
> >3. Terrorism causes pain and grief and should be combatted.
> >4. Terrorism causes pain and grief and should be combatted with all the
> >resources
> > we can muster.
> >
> >All are memes, but which ones are units?
Wade:
> No, from the external stance, none of them are memes. The acts of
> terrorists are memes, not the idea of terrorism, which, so far, has hurt
> no-one, as no idea has ever hurt anyone. It is the expression and the
> activity of expressing ideas that hurts people, and that are memes.
Interesting Wade. Could you give me a (behaviorist) definition of what
you consider a meme. Please be as clear and unambiguous as possible so we
can
get a better understanding of eachother.
> In the case of terrorism, many of the acts cause pain and grief. And each
> act is a meme. And to the terrorist cell, the acts are ones of heroism
> and pride.
>
> Which, also, are not memes.
So it is perspective dependent whether or not an act is a meme or not.
In this case the acts regarded by victims are memes but from the
perpetrator's
point of view they are not. Hence the acts of terrorism do not spread among
terrorists as they can't be imitated. Confusing Wade, please elaborate....
Philip.
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