Date: Fri, 19 Nov 1999 15:33:26 +0000
From: Bruce Edmonds <b.edmonds@mmu.ac.uk>
To: jom-emit-ann@mmu.ac.uk
Subject: New JoM-EMIT paper: "Do Animals Have Memes?" by Simon Reader and Kevin
Do Animals Have Memes?
by Simon M. Reader & Kevin N. Laland
Abstract
Imitation has been put forward as a defining feature of memetic
transmission. Since there is currently poor evidence for imitation
in
non-human animals, such definitions have been interpreted as
restricting meme theory to the study of human behaviour patterns
and
birdsong. We believe this is a mistake. Human capacities for
imitation, teaching and language may well account for the
extraordinary diversity of human culture compared with animal
proto-cultures, but imitation is simply one mechanism of
transmitting
acquired information between individuals. As long as information is
transmitted with sufficient fidelity to be replicated in the brain
of the
receiver, any social learning process will do. Non-human animals
may be poor imitators, but many are excellent social learners. We
argue that the meme concept can, and should, be applied to animal
cultural transmission.
Keywords: social learning, cultural transmission, acquired
information, animals, imitation, replicator, meme.
Available at:
http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit/1999/vol3/reader_sm&laland_kn.html