The Meme Machine
Encyclopedia
The Meme Machine is a popular science
book by psychologist
Susan Blackmore
on the subject of meme
s. 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 create greater clarity about the definition of the meme as she sees it. The last half of the book consists of a number of possible memetic explanations for such different problems as the origin of language
, the origin of the human brain, sexual phenomena
, the internet
and the notion of the self
. These explanations, in her view, give simpler and clearer explanations than trying to create genetic explanations in these fields.
The idea of memes, and the word itself, were originally speculated by Richard Dawkins
in his book The Selfish Gene
although similar, or analogous, concepts had been in currency for a while before its publishing.
In the book she examines the difficulties associated with the meme
including its definition and how to spot one as well as the difficulties which arise from seeing it as being like the gene. She sees the meme in terms of being a universal replicator, of which the gene is but an example, rather than being like the gene itself. Universal replicators possess three key characteristics: high fidelity replication, high levels of fecundity (and so lots of copies) and longevity. She believes that these are earlier days for memes than genes, and that whilst memes have attained/evolved a sufficiently high level of these characteristics to qualify as replicators, they are not as effective replicators as genes by these key characteristics.
Whilst others have accepted the possible existence of memes it is sometimes the case that they are seen as subordinate to genes. The author suggests that this is not the case now and that memes are independent replicators. Indeed she suggests that memes may now in some cases be driving genetic evolution and be the cause of the abnormally large brain in homo sapiens. (Blackmore at 75). She notes that human brains began expanding in size at about the same time that we started using tools and suggests that once individuals began to imitate each other, selection pressure favored those who could make good choices on what to imitate, and could imitate intelligently. Id. at 75-76.
Popular science
Popular science, sometimes called literature of science, is interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is broad-ranging, often written by scientists as well as journalists, and is presented in many...
book by psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
Susan Blackmore
Susan Blackmore
Susan 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:...
on the subject of meme
Meme
A meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena...
s. Blackmore attempts to constitute memetics
Memetics
Memetics is a theory of mental content based on an analogy with Darwinian evolution, originating from Richard Dawkins' 1976 book The Selfish Gene. It purports to be an approach to evolutionary models of cultural information transfer. A meme, analogous to a gene, is essentially a "unit of...
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 create greater clarity about the definition of the meme as she sees it. The last half of the book consists of a number of possible memetic explanations for such different problems as the origin of language
Origin of language
The origin of language is the emergence of language in the human species. This is a highly controversial topic. Empirical evidence is so limited that many regard it as unsuitable for serious scholars. In 1866, the Linguistic Society of Paris went so far as to ban debates on the subject...
, the origin of the human brain, sexual phenomena
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
, the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and the notion of the self
Self (philosophy)
The philosophy of self defines the essential qualities that make one person distinct from all others. There have been numerous approaches to defining these qualities. The self is the idea of a unified being which is the source of consciousness. Moreover, this self is the agent responsible for the...
. These explanations, in her view, give simpler and clearer explanations than trying to create genetic explanations in these fields.
The idea of memes, and the word itself, were originally speculated by Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins
Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL , known as Richard Dawkins, is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author...
in his book The Selfish Gene
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. Dawkins coined the term "selfish gene" as a way of expressing the gene-centred view of evolution as opposed to the...
although similar, or analogous, concepts had been in currency for a while before its publishing.
In the book she examines the difficulties associated with the meme
Meme
A meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena...
including its definition and how to spot one as well as the difficulties which arise from seeing it as being like the gene. She sees the meme in terms of being a universal replicator, of which the gene is but an example, rather than being like the gene itself. Universal replicators possess three key characteristics: high fidelity replication, high levels of fecundity (and so lots of copies) and longevity. She believes that these are earlier days for memes than genes, and that whilst memes have attained/evolved a sufficiently high level of these characteristics to qualify as replicators, they are not as effective replicators as genes by these key characteristics.
Whilst others have accepted the possible existence of memes it is sometimes the case that they are seen as subordinate to genes. The author suggests that this is not the case now and that memes are independent replicators. Indeed she suggests that memes may now in some cases be driving genetic evolution and be the cause of the abnormally large brain in homo sapiens. (Blackmore at 75). She notes that human brains began expanding in size at about the same time that we started using tools and suggests that once individuals began to imitate each other, selection pressure favored those who could make good choices on what to imitate, and could imitate intelligently. Id. at 75-76.
Terminology
In the book, Blackmore tries to create a consistent vocabulary, since memetics has had a wide range of different terminologies and therefore, in Blackmore's opinion, a lot of misleading concepts. Some of the terms that are central in her book include:- Copy-the-product e.g. make a copy of the soup. This is more prone to error since it requires an analytic capability of the soup itself and then a synthetic ability to combine the recognised elements. Any inserted errors will be passed on in the event of this copy of a soup being copied.
- Copy-the-instructions e.g. make a copy of the soup recipe. This is less error prone since the important elements of the soup are identified and the synthetic method explained. Any errors in using the recipe will not be passed on to future copiers since they will receive the recipe itself.
- Meme Fear The fear that the idea we are vessels for memes unacceptably undermines the popular understanding of free will and autonomy. (Blackmore 8-9).
- Memeplex Memes that are replicated together, such as religions and cultures. (Blackmore 19-24).
- Memetic Theory of Altruism She proposes that meme theory explains altruism better than genetic. That other things being equal, more people will observe altruistic behavior than selfish behavior, will like the altruistic person better than the selfish one, and will be more likely to adopt the behaviors of the altruistic person than the selfish one. (Blackmore 154-158).