Message-Id: <v03102804b0bd306a5ba7@[194.109.13.153]>
In-Reply-To: <3497BC38.46C0@metz.une.edu.au>
Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 08:59:36 +0100
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
From: Ton Maas <tonmaas@xs4all.nl>
Subject: Re: Milk Bottles & Animal IQ
Bruce Howlett wrote:
>This may seem an overly simplistic question considering the erudite
>nature of this debate, but how come birds can count at all when humans
>have to be taught this skill?
I don't think one can teach children how to count - only how to do it
*properly*. Education is more about selecting and moulding than about
"teaching".
>Next question: Does memetic theory explain instinct? I have read some
>posts which use instinct as a separate concept.
By definition, it couldn't be instinctive if memetics can explain it, or
what? Instinct is a "stop-gap" concept to indicate some unknown process
which "explains" behaviours without having to resort to learning. By itself
it doesn't explain anything, however.
Ton
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