Date: Thu, 07 Jan 1999 09:09:38 +0000
From: Bruce Edmonds <b.edmonds@mmu.ac.uk>
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Subject: New article by Liane Gabora in Psycoloquy
A new article from Liane Gabora on the mimetic/memetic origin of
culture has just appeared in Psycoloquy. It devlops in much greater
detail some of the ideas in her JoM-EMIT article (The Origin and
Evolution of Culture and Creativity at
http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit/1997/vol1/gabora_l.html).
Psycoloquy is inviting people to submit commentaries on it.
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AUTOCATALYTIC CLOSURE IN A COGNITIVE SYSTEM:
A TENTATIVE SCENARIO FOR THE ORIGIN OF CULTURE
Liane Gabora
Center Leo Apostel
Brussels Free University
Krijgskundestraat 33
1160 Brussels
Belgium
lgabora@vub.ac.be
http://www.vub.ac.be/CLEA/liane/
ABSTRACT: This target article presents a speculative model of the
cognitive mechanisms underlying the transition from episodic to
mimetic (or memetic) culture with the arrival of Homo Erectus,
which Donald (1991) claims paved the way for the unique features of
human culture. The model draws on Kauffman's (1993) theory of how
an information-evolving system emerges through the formation of an
autocatalytic network. Though originally formulated to explain the
origin of life, Kauffman's theory also provides a plausible account
of how discrete episodic memories become woven into an internal
model of the world, or world-view, that both structures, and is
structured by, self-triggered streams of thought. Social
interaction plays a role in (and may be critical to) this process.
Implications for cognitive development are explored.
KEYWORDS: abstraction, animal cognition, autocatalysis, cognitive
development, cognitive origins, consciousness, cultural evolution,
memory, meme, mimetic culture, representational redescription,
world-view.
Full text of article available at:
http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/cgi/psyc/newpsy?9.67
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Bruce Edmonds,
Centre for Policy Modelling,
Manchester Metropolitan University, Aytoun Bldg.,
Aytoun St., Manchester, M1 3GH. UK.
Tel: +44 161 247 6479 Fax: +44 161 247 6802
http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/~bruce
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This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit