Archive for the ‘dawkins’ tag

REFLECTION: DAWKINS’ MEME

Richard Dawkins: The Selfish Gene, Chapter 11 (1976)

THE MEME AS A SELFISH REPLICATOR

Richard Dawkins introduces the notion of the meme, and uses characteristica of the gene from his theory of the selfish gene to explain another kind of evolution than the one proposed by Darwin in the theory of natural selection – namely the development of culture.

He states that genes propagate/breed/spread through the capacity of being a replicator, and the success of the replication is based on longevity – the life span of the gene, fecundity – fertility of the gene and copying-fidelity – ability to be copied
Dawkins translates these properties to the meme, and argues memes to be the driving force behind cultural evolution – an evolution not controlled by genes.
The process of meme replication is that of imitation, and any brain that is capable of imitation can also hold a meme.
He is arguing that memes aren’t high-fidelity replicators as memes slightly change or mutate when it is copied from one brain to another.
Finally he argues from man’s ability to “defy” the selfish genes that results in natural instinct of survival through e.g. our use of contraceptives, in the same way that man can escape the indoctrination of particular (and selfish) memes through “discuss[ing] ways of cultivating and nurturing pure, disinterested altruism”.

SOME UNCLARITY

Dawkins speaks of memes as cultural genes, and to some extent is in unclear to me whether he considers all ideas and concepts to be memes or clusters of memes, or only those that are not based in rational argument and evidence.
How else can a discussion liberate us from the indoctrination of selfish meme?

He is also using the metaphor of the virus to explain some of the properties of the meme, which is confusing as he originally translated the meme’s qualities from the gene. Viruses are not natural replicators, but “parasites” that attach themselves to the replicating ability of a gene, which causes them to spread.

MEMES, MARKETING AND THE FREUDIAN SUBCONSCIOUS

In the British BBC documentary seriers “Century of the Self“, the writer, Adam Curtis, is explaining the starting point of modern marketing with its utilization of Freud’s psychoanalytical principles, especially the theory’s of the subconscious being dominated by primal desires and aggressions. The effect of a marketing campaign was measured by its ability to connect to the primal desires of subconscious, however in a clever and covert way, to attract people to a given product – and in this way “engineer the concent” of the receiver – turning him/her into a passive consumer – a controllable receptor.

There seems to be some similarities between the perspective presented in this documentary and the indoctrinative effect of the meme, as well as an ingredient in the discussion of how media spread.

NEIL STEPHENSON’S UR-MEME OF ENKI

In Neil Stephenson’s Snowcrash we are introduced to mixed reality world, where virtual technology and the real physical enviroment of man is overlapping. In this future we confronted with the invention of (audio)-visuall virtual software program/virus that speaks in the language of Enki. Enki is the Sumerian god of Technology, who introduced tools to mankind. Enki re-programs us with new functionality, by speaking directly to our hardwired brain, into the firmwire so to say. This new knowledge is not granted us through a reflection and emerging understanding, it is rather an upgrade of our system. In “Snowcrash” a group of people have gained knowledge of the language of Enki, with interesting consequenses…

I wanted to add this assosiation as well, as it made me think of a hardwired version of Dawkins’ meme, and one that we can’t resist under any circumstance, because it is introduced before reaching an rational mental capacity of the mind.