Editing Memetics (section)

{{short description|Study of self-replicating units of culture}}{{about|the study of self-replicating units of culture|the critical and philosophical term|Mimesis|the theory of human behavior|Mimetic theory|the study of Internet memes|Internet meme}}
'''Memetics''' is a theory of the evolution of culture based on Darwinian principles with the [[meme]] as the unit of culture. The term "meme" was coined by biologist [[Richard Dawkins]] in his 1976 book ''[[The Selfish Gene]]'',<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |title=The selfish gene |date=1981 |publisher=Oxford Univ. Pr |isbn=978-0-19-857519-1 |edition=Repr. with corr |location=Oxford}}</ref> to illustrate the principle that he later called "[[Universal Darwinism]]". All evolutionary processes depend on [[information]] being copied, varied, and selected, a process also known as variation with [[selective retention]]. The conveyor of the information being copied is known as the replicator, with the [[gene]] functioning as the replicator in biological [[evolution]]. Dawkins proposed that the same process drives [[cultural evolution]], and he called this second replicator the "meme," citing examples such as musical tunes, catchphrases, [[Fashion|fashions]], and [[Technology|technologies]]. Like genes, memes are selfish replicators and have causal efficacy; in other words, their properties influence their chances of being copied and passed on. Some succeed because they are valuable or useful to their human hosts while others are more like viruses.

Just as genes can work together to form [[Co-adaptation|co-adapted]] gene complexes, so groups of memes acting together form co-adapted meme complexes or [[Memeplex|memeplexes]]. Memeplexes include (among many other things) [[Language|languages]], [[Tradition|traditions]], [[Scientific theory|scientific theories]], [[Financial institution|financial institutions]], and [[Religion|religions]]. Dawkins famously referred to religions as "[[Viruses of the Mind|viruses of the mind]]".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dennett |first1=Daniel Clement |title=Dennett and his critics: demystifying mind |last2=Dahlbom |first2=Bo |date=1993 |publisher=Blackwell |isbn=978-0-631-18549-9 |series=Philosophers and their critics |location=Oxford (GB) Cambridge (Mass.)}}</ref>

Among proponents of memetics are psychologist [[Susan Blackmore]], author of ''[[The Meme Machine]]'', who argues that when our ancestors began imitating behaviours, they let loose a second replicator and co-evolved to become the "meme machines" that copy, vary, and select memes in culture.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Blackmore |first=Susan J. |title=The meme machine |date=2000 |publisher=Oxford university press |isbn=978-0-19-286212-9 |location=Oxford}}</ref> Philosopher [[Daniel Dennett]] develops memetics extensively, notably in his books ''[[Darwin's Dangerous Idea]]'',<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dennett |first=Daniel Clement |title=Darwin's dangerous idea: evolution and the meanings of life |date=1995 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-0-684-80290-9 |location=New York London Toronto [etc.]}}</ref> and ''[[From Bacteria to Bach and Back]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dennett |first=Daniel Clement |title=From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds |date=2017 |publisher=Allen Lane |isbn=978-0-241-00356-5 |location=London}}</ref> He describes the units of memes as "the smallest elements that replicate themselves with reliability and fecundity,"<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dennett |first=Daniel Clement |title=Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life |date=1995 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-0-684-80290-9 |location=New York London Toronto [etc.] |pages=344}}</ref> and claims that "Human consciousness is itself a huge complex of memes."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dennett |first=Daniel Clement |title=Consciousness Explained |date=1991 |publisher=Little, Brown |isbn=978-0-316-18065-8 |location=Boston |pages=210}}</ref> In ''[[The Beginning of Infinity]]'',<ref>{{Cite book |last=Deutsch |first=David |title=The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World |date=2012 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-027816-3 |location=London}}</ref> physicist [[David Deutsch]] contrasts static societies that depend on anti-rational memes suppressing innovation and creativity, with dynamic societies based on rational memes that encourage [[Age of Enlightenment|enlightenment]] values, scientific curiosity, and progress.

Criticisms of memetics include claims that memes do not exist, that the analogy with genes is false, that the units cannot be specified, that culture does not evolve through imitation, and that the sources of variation are intelligently designed rather than random. Critics of memetics include biologist [[Stephen Jay Gould]] who calls memetics a "meaningless metaphor". Philosopher [[Dan Sperber]] argues against memetics as a viable approach to cultural evolution because cultural items are not directly copied or imitated but are reproduced.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Darwinizing Culture: The Status of Memetics as a Science |date=2003 |publisher=Oxford Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-19-263244-9 |editor-last=Aunger |editor-first=Robert |edition=Repr |location=Oxford |pages=163–173}}</ref> Anthropologist [[Robert Boyd (anthropologist)|Robert Boyd]] and biologist [[Peter Richerson]] work within the alternative, and more mainstream, field of [[Cultural evolution|cultural evolution theory]] and [[gene-culture coevolution]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Richerson |first1=Peter J. |title=Not by genes alone: how culture transformed human evolution |last2=Boyd |first2=Robert |date=2008 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-71212-3 |edition=Paperback ed., [Nachdr.] |location=Chicago, Ill.}}</ref> [[Dual inheritance theory]] has much in common with memetics but rejects the idea that memes are replicators. From this perspective, memetics is seen as just one of several approaches to cultural evolution and one that is generally considered less useful than the alternatives of gene-culture coevolution or dual inheritance theory. The main difference is that dual inheritance theory ultimately depends on biological advantage to genes, whereas memetics treats memes as a second replicator in its own right. Memetics also extends to the analysis of [[Internet culture]] and [[Internet meme]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shifman |first=Limor |title=Memes in digital culture |date=2014 |publisher=The MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-52543-5 |series=The MIT Press essential knowledge series |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts}}</ref>