A term better known by the general public pertaining to
ideas and topical doodles going viral on the internet, is the theory of memes
fuelling the current ultra-Darwinism movement?
By: Ringo Bones
A term more likely to be used in cultural anthropology and
sociology, the term” meme” is largely seen by the general public as pertaining
to topical ideas and topical doodles or topical political cartoons going viral
on the internet primarily thru sharing in the major on-line social networks
like Facebook and Twitter. But unbeknown to the general public, the word meme
or the term “theory of memes” had been in widespread use in the A-level
syllabus of academia.
From the viewpoint of cultural anthropology and other
humanist based sociological sciences, a meme is an idea, behavior 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. Supporters of the concept regard meme as a cultural analog to genes
in that they self-replicate, mutate and respond to selective pressures. The
word meme is a shortening of mimeme – from ancient Greek mimeima – meaning
something imitated.
Based on the word’s first usage in academic musings, the
word meme was originally coined by the British evolutionary biologist Professor
Richard Dawkins when he first published The Selfish Gene in 1976 as a concept
for discussion of evolutionary principles – as in Darwinian evolution – in
explaining the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena. Examples of memes given
in the book, The Selfish Gene, included musical melodies, catch-phrases,
fashion trends and the technology of building arches – i.e. learned skills.
Proponents theorize that memes may evolve by natural
selection in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution proposed by
Charles Darwin. Memes do this through the process of variation, mutation,
competition and inheritance. Each of which influence a meme’s reproductive
success. Memes spread through the behavior that they generate in their hosts.
Memes that propagate less proficiently may become extinct, while others may
survive, spread and – for better or for worse – mutate. Memes that replicate
more effectively enjoy the most success and some may replicate just as
effectively even when they prove to be detrimental to the welfare of their
hosts.
A field of study called memetics arose in the 1990s to
explore the concepts and transmission of memes in terms of a Darwinian
evolutionary model. Criticisms from a variety of fronts had since challenged
the notion that a “mere academic study” can effectively examine memes
empirically. However, recent developments in neuro-imaging could make empirical
study of memes a real possibility. Some commentators question the idea that one
meaning can fully categorize culture in terms of discrete units. While others,
including Prof. Dawkins himself, have agreed that this usage of he term is the
result of a misunderstanding of the original proposal.
From the perspective of academia, the word meme originated
with Professor Richard Dawkins’ 1976 publication titled The Selfish Gene.
Dawkins cites as inspiration the work of geneticist L.L. Cavalli-Sforza,
anthropologist F.T. Clark and ethnologist J.M. Cullen. Dawkins wrote that
evolution depended not on a particular chemical basis of genetics, but only on
the existence of a self-replicating unit of transmission – in the case of biological
evolution, the gene. From Dawkins’ perspective, the meme exemplified another
self-replicating unit with potential significance in explaining human behavior
and cultural evolution. Does this mean that Prof. Dawkins’ ontological
empiricism of memes is more akin to how data is transferred in the concept Information
Theory as opposed to the biochemical aspects of Darwinian evolution?
From the consensus of mainstream academia, Dawkins used the
term meme to refer to any cultural entity that an observer might consider a
replicator. Dawkins hypothesized that that one could view many cultural
entities as replicators and pointed to musical melodies, fashion trends and
learned skills as examples. Memes generally replicate through exposure to
humans, who have evolved as efficient copiers of behavior and information.
Because humans do not always copy memes perfectly, and because they may refine
it to suit their immediate needs, combine or otherwise modify them with other
memes to create new memes, these can result in changes over time. Dawkins
likened the process by which memes survive and change through the evolution of
culture to the natural selection of genes in biological evolution – i.e.
Darwinian evolution.
In The Selfish Gene, Professor Dawkins defined meme as a
unit of cultural transmission or as a unit of imitation and replication, but
later definitions would vary. Memes, analogous to genes, vary in their aptitude
to replicate; memes that are good at getting to be copied tend to spread and
remain, whereas the lesser ones have a higher probability of being ignored and
forgotten. Thus “better” memes are selected but the lack of consistent,
rigorous and precise understanding of what typically makes up one unit of
cultural transmission remains a problem in debates about memetics. In contrast,
the concept of genetics gained concrete evidence with the discovery of the
biological functions of DNA. Meme transmission does not necessarily require a
physical medium for its transmission unlike genetic information; Thus marking a
vast gulf between traditional Information Theory and genetic science and
ultimately a humanist – though sometimes a quasi-religious / quasi-mystical
vindication of ultra-Darwinism.
