http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme
A *meme* (/ <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English>ˈ<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key> m <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key>iː<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key> m <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Key>/<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English>; *meem* <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Pronunciation_respelling_key> )[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme#cite_note-cream-1> is "an idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."[2]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme#cite_note-2>A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture> ideas, symbols, or practices that can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals, or other imitable phenomena. Supporters of the concept regard memes as cultural analogues to genes in that they self-replicate, mutate, and respond to selective pressures<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selection> .[3] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme#cite_note-3> The word *meme* is a shortening (modeled on *gene*) of *mimeme* (from Ancient Greek <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek> μίμημα Greek pronunciation: [míːmɛːma] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Greek> *mīmēma*, "imitated thing", from μιμεῖσθαι *mimeisthai*, "to imitate", from μῖμος *mimos* "mime")[4] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme#cite_note-4>and it was coined by the British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dawkins> in *The Selfish Gene <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Selfish_Gene>* (1976)[1]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme#cite_note-cream-1> [5] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme#cite_note-5> as a concept for discussion of evolutionary <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution>principles in explaining the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena. Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catch-phrases, fashion, and the technology of building arches.[6]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme#cite_note-selfish-6> Proponents theorize that memes may evolve by natural selection<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_selection>in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biological_evolution>. Memes do this through the processes of variation<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_diversity>, mutation <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutation>, competition<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competition>, and inheritance <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heredity>, each of which influence a meme's reproductive success. Memes spread through the behavior that they generate in their hosts. Memes that propagate<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecundity>less prolifically may become extinct <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extinction>, while others may survive, spread, and (for better or for worse) mutate<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutation>. Memes that replicate most effectively enjoy more success, and some may replicate effectively even when they prove to be detrimental to the welfare of their hosts.[7] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme#cite_note-Kelly-7> A field of study called memetics <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memetics>[8]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme#cite_note-8>arose in the 1990s to explore the concepts and transmission of memes in terms of an evolutionary model<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_model>. Criticism from a variety of fronts has challenged the notion that academic study can examine memes empirically <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empirical>. However, developments in neuroimaging<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_neuroimaging>may make empirical <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empirical> study possible.[9]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme#cite_note-mcnamara-9>Some commentators in the social sciences question the idea that one can meaningfully categorize culture in terms of discrete units, and are especially critical of the biological nature of the theory's underpinnings[ 10] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme#cite_note-10> Others, including Dawkins himself, have argued that this usage of the term is the result of a misunderstanding of the original proposal.[11]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme#cite_note-misunderstanding-11> When an idea is lost, then new words would be invented. Is "Meme":... Idealist word.... Realist word.... Nominalist word.... Phenomenologist word? Is "Meme":.... Conceptus word? or Res word?... Idea? or Physical matter?... either directly (single thing)? or abstractly (group of things)? Is "Meme": Subjective (in the mind)? or Objective (in the physical)? ... after you know what "Meme" is, inside above "categories"... then you decide if person using word "meme" is using it as Idealist, Realist, Nominalist, or Phenomnologist..... Maybe Dawkins thinks "meme" is Objective Conceptus "Realist" word..... but "memetics" looking for "Subjective" RES "Phenomeniological" substantiality of meme "phenomenon"..... but "RES" "phenomenon" meme nowhere to be "sensed" empirically, I think...all in the head..... ANALOGOUS..... analogy is not science method......unless proven physically.... Meme?....Realist, word at best.... Phenomenological word, at worst... Dawkins?..... Tropical Fish Realist... like Archytas.... HAR. On Friday, December 6, 2013 3:03:49 PM UTC-5, socratus sadovnik wrote: > > When an idea is lost, then new words would be invented. > > =. > > Book: This will make you smarter. > > Part: Cultural attractors. Page 180. By Dan Sperber > > > > *In 1967, Richard Dawkins introduced the idea of a meme . . . . . > > "Meme" has become a remarkably successful addition to > > everybody's cognitive toolkit. > > . . . > > Not only do "memeticists" have many quite different definitions > > of "meme", but also, and more important, most users of the > > term have no clear idea of what a meme might be. The term > > is used with a vague meaning, relevant in the circumstances. > > > > ( . . . , we produce a new token of the same type without > > reproducing in the usual sense of copying some previous token)* > > Page 182. By Dan Sperber. > > ==.. > > In physics was produced many words with a very > > vague meaning: inertia, entropy, ideal gas, antimatter, > > dark matter, dark energy, quarks, virtual particles, . . . . > > > > So, why we are complaining about the great difficulty > > in understanding the reality? > > ===… > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Epistemology" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to epistemology+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to epistemology@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/epistemology. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
