Message-Id: <s39bde3d.020@wpg.uwe.ac.uk>
Date: Mon, 09 Jun 1997 10:42:13 +0000
From: N Rose <NJ-ROSE@wpg.uwe.ac.uk>
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Subject: RE:Memeism
Omar de la Cruz wrote:
>DEGREES OF BELIEF IN MEMEISM:
>I call 'memeism' the belief that memetic evolution can explain
>phenomena in cultural evolution. According to their degree of
>belief in this hypothesis, people could be grossly classified in
>the following types:
>1) The Full-Fledged Memeist:
<snip for space>
>2) The Optimistic Memeist:
<snip..>
>3) The Skeptic Memeist:
<snip..>
>4) The Inquisitor:
<snip..>
>5) The Ignoramus:
>I put myself somewhere between the Skeptic and the Optimistic
>Memeist.
>And, fortunately, I think all the people in this forum would
>fall somewhere in that same interval. However, I think that
>some of the misunderstandings in the discussions can be traced
>back to people misplacing other people in this scale.
To come at this in the spirit it was intended I might suggest a
polarity which perhaps underlies much of the interesting and
challenging debate on this discussion group.
1) Blind Watch Makers
Who believe that humans are the passive hosts for memes, and that
memes as replicators proceed as blindly (i.e. without foresight)
as genes. They think of the 'self' as a benign user illusion.
2) 'Self' Centred Selectionists
For these folk, memes are not some independant entity with power
to manipulate humans like puppets; but objects which can be
selected for/against or manipulated by people.
Omar wrote:
>And finally, let me stress again that this post was concieved
>not with any bitterness but with a smile, since I have, to some
>extent, sometime or another, been through each one of these
>categories!
I'd be surprised if we all hadn't! ;)
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