Much of the study of
memeA meme is a postulated unit or element of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, and is transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena...
s focuses on groups of memes called meme complexes, or "memeplexes." Like the gene complexes found in biology, memeplexes are groups of memes that are often found present in the same individual. Applying the theory of
Universal darwinismUniversal Darwinism refers to any of several concepts which apply the ideas and theories of Darwinism beyond their original sphere of organic evolution on Earth...
, memeplexes group together because memes will copy themselves more successfully when they are "teamed up". Examples include sets of memes like singing and guitar playing, or the
Christmas treeThe Christmas tree is a decorated artificial or living tree, a popular tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. Normally an evergreen coniferous tree that is brought into a home or used in the open, a Christmas tree is decorated with Christmas lights and colourful ornaments during...
and
Christmas dinnerChristmas dinner is the primary meal traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. In many ways the meal is similar to a standard Sunday dinner. Christmas feasts have traditionally been luxurious and abundant...
.
Unlike gene complexes, memeplexes do not have to benefit the genes in order to replicate.
Much of the study of
memeA meme is a postulated unit or element of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, and is transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena...
s focuses on groups of memes called meme complexes, or "memeplexes." Like the gene complexes found in biology, memeplexes are groups of memes that are often found present in the same individual. Applying the theory of
Universal darwinismUniversal Darwinism refers to any of several concepts which apply the ideas and theories of Darwinism beyond their original sphere of organic evolution on Earth...
, memeplexes group together because memes will copy themselves more successfully when they are "teamed up". Examples include sets of memes like singing and guitar playing, or the
Christmas treeThe Christmas tree is a decorated artificial or living tree, a popular tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. Normally an evergreen coniferous tree that is brought into a home or used in the open, a Christmas tree is decorated with Christmas lights and colourful ornaments during...
and
Christmas dinnerChristmas dinner is the primary meal traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. In many ways the meal is similar to a standard Sunday dinner. Christmas feasts have traditionally been luxurious and abundant...
.
Unlike gene complexes, memeplexes do not have to benefit the genes in order to replicate. An example of a genetically harmful memeplex is a religion that encourages
Sexual abstinenceSexual abstinence is the practice of voluntarily refraining from some or all aspects of sexual activity.Common reasons for practicing sexual abstinence include:*religious or philosophical reasons...
, but the memeplex itself is still able to replicate through means of cultural or
Horizontal transmissionHorizontal transmission is the transmission of a bacterial, fungal, or viral infection between members of the same species that are not in a parent-child relationship....
.
http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/journalism/NSmeme%201999.htm Memes and memeplexes do not have to be true to replicate, although the feeling of something being true or
TruthinessTruthiness is a term first used in its recent satirical sense by American television comedian Stephen Colbert in 2005, to describe things that a person claims to know intuitively or "from the gut" without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts...
is beneficial to a memes replication.
Philosopher Daniel C. Dennett, evolutionary biologist
Richard DawkinsClinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL is a British ethologist, zoologist, Neo-Darwinian evolutionary biologist and theorist and a popular science author....
and consciousness researcher
Susan BlackmoreSusan Jane Blackmore is an English freelance writer, lecturer, and broadcaster on psychology and the paranormal, perhaps best known for her book The Meme Machine.-Career:...
are proponents of
memeticsMemetics is a term coined by Douglas Hofstadter in the 1980s, relating to the notion of meme, introduced by Richard Dawkins, as genetics relates to that of gene....
.
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/dan_dennett_on_dangerous_memes.html http://www.richarddawkins.net/article,3001,QampA-with-Richard-Dawkins-after-lecture-at-UC-Berkeley,RichardDawkinsnet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Meme_Machine
Religion
Memeplexes have been employed recently in attempts to understand religion. In the case of
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
, the idea suggests, the Christian memeplex "evolved" based upon the
JewishJudaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts...
religious teachings, among others, to eventually form the Catholic church, followed by various schisms leading to the Eastern Orthodox churches and various Protestant churches. In this process, various theologians, political leaders, writers, and religious visionaries have added and deleted individual memes from the Christian memeplex resulting in the formation of new but related memeplexes, or (religions/
sectThe historical usage of the term sect in Christendom has had pejorative connotations, referring to a group or movement with heretical beliefs or practices that deviate from those of groups considered orthodox....
s). The process of schism, like evolution, is ongoing, and as a result smaller and less differentiated memeplexes have arisen within the
CatholicThe word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective , meaning "universal". In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages. For some, the term "Catholic Church" refers to the church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, made up of the Latin Rite and the 22...
,
OrthodoxThe term Orthodox Christianity may refer to:* Correct theology or belief, such as the ancient, majority, or Trinitarian theologies of Christianity...
, and Protestant traditions. The same process could be said to be occurring in the case of many sets of belief.
See also
- Memetics
Memetics is a term coined by Douglas Hofstadter in the 1980s, relating to the notion of meme, introduced by Richard Dawkins, as genetics relates to that of gene....
- Meme
A meme is a postulated unit or element of cultural ideas, symbols or practices, and is transmitted from one mind to another through speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena...
- Metameme
In the field of memetics, a metameme is defined as a meme about a meme. A metaphor or the idea of memetic engineering are, thus, metamemes. The concept of memes has been referred to as "The Metameme" . Some other metamemes of interest include the meme tolerance and memeplexes.It has to be noted...
- The Selfish Gene
The Selfish Gene is a book on evolution by Richard Dawkins, published in 1976. It builds upon the principal theory of George C. Williams's first book Adaptation and Natural Selection...
- The Meme Machine
The Meme Machine is a popular science book by psychologist Susan Blackmore on the subject of memes. Blackmore attempts to constitute memetics as a science by discussing its empirical and analytic potential, as well as some important problems with memetics. The first half of the book tries to...
- Darwin's Dangerous Idea
Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life is a book by Daniel Dennett which argues that Darwinian processes are the central organizing force that gives rise to complexity...