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Memes and the Exploitation of Imagination
... Section 2 then analyzes the attempts by writers, such as Edward Wilson, to rejuvenate culture as explanatory and tracks reactions to Wilson's now-infamous proposal regarding sociobiology. Particular attention is given in this regard to selectionist evolutionary accounts driven by R. Dawkins, D. Dennett, and S. Blackmore (Blackmore, 2000;Dawkins, 1976;Dennett, 1990;Ehrlich and Feldman, 2003;Lewens, 2015Lewens, , 2017, to the historical approach represented by E. Heyer, A. Sibert, F. Austerlitz, A. Thaler, and S. Guha (Guha et al., 2012;Heyer, Sibert and Austerlitz, 2005;Lansing and Cox, 2011;Thaler et al., 2009), and to newly emerged (Driscoll, 2018) Cultural Evolutionary Science (CES) represented mainly by P. Boyer, D. Sperber, W. Durham, S. Atran, J. Henrich, R. Boyd, and P. Richerson (Atran, 2002;Boyer, 2001;Durham, 1991;Henrich, 2015b;Laland and O'Brien, 2011;Laland et al., 1995;Mesoudi, 2011;Richerson and Boyd, 2006;Sperber, 1996). ...
... In the next section I analyze the attempts by writers such as Edward Wilson to rejuvenate culture as explanatory and track the reactions to Wilson's nowinfamous proposal regarding sociobiology. Particular attention is given in this regard to selectionist evolutionary accounts (Blackmore, 2000;Dawkins, 1976;Dennett, 1990;Ehrlich and Feldman, 2003;Lewens, 2015Lewens, , 2017, historical approach (Guha et al., 2012;Heyer et al., 2005;Lansing and Cox, 2011;Thaler et al., 2009), and the newly emerged (Driscoll, 2018) Cultural Evolutionary Science (Atran, 2002;Boyer, 2001;Durham, 1991;Henrich, 2015b;Laland and O'Brien, 2011;Laland et al., 1995;Mesoudi, 2011;Richerson and Boyd, 2006;Sperber, 1996). ...
... The first is an idea of "pure" cultural evolution committed to the idea that discrete culture unites replicate in the same manner as genes. The most prominent examples of this type of selectionist cultural evolution are Richard Dawkins's and Daniel Dennett's "memes" (Blackmore, 2000;Dawkins, 1976;Dennett, 1990;Ehrlich and Feldman, 2003;Lewens, 2015Lewens, , 2017). 2. The second is a historical approach. ...
Although the concept of culture was severely criticized in the second half of the twentieth century, its explanatory use has not been abandoned. Evolutionary psychologists and cognitive scientists have more recently used the concept in models and theories of culture. This use renews the hope that the concept of culture can be explanatorily useful within the social sciences, especially since the new definition of culture connects with both the idea of evolution and with the other natural sciences. In this paper, I analyze the models of cultural evolution developed by Cultural Evolutionary Science (CES), more specifically gene-culture coevolution theoretical models and dual-inheritance theories. I argue that even if CES scholars mostly claim that for them, culture is equal to information, some of these models have aspirations to bring back cultures as discrete units that resemble the social anthropological models of culture that have been already abandoned. I discuss evolutionists’ and social anthropologists’ objections to these models. I claim that despite the popularity of cultural evolutionist theories, social scientists (cultural anthropologists and historians, for example) should remain skeptical about the possibility that this approach can assume an explanatory role for a concept of culture.
... In such function, the connection with reality is established mainly to supplement the produced information, but that information is mainly a product of cognition. Therefore, the producing quality of the psyche may be seen as the most basic mechanism for the generation of new ideas, including memes (Dennett, 1990). "Produced" information is not always useful for its creator or for society, but sometimes it makes a breakthrough. ...
... "Produced" information is not always useful for its creator or for society, but sometimes it makes a breakthrough. Its usefulness is verified by the mechanisms of natural selection (Dennett, 1990). ...
Various aspects of socionics, a theory of psychological types and their relationships, were critically reviewed. Philosophical underpinnings of the theory were discussed, including problematic concepts such as information and its metabolism. The mechanism of intertype relationships was explained with examples. The cybernetic structure of information transfer between all psychological types was presented and its possible implications for real societies were briefly discussed. The status of socionics as scientific theory was evaluated and the examples of its applications were briefly reviewed. Although there are doubts regarding its scientific foundation, socionics has interesting connections with modern philosophy of the mind and cognitive sciences. Some of its findings may be useful in the fields of occupationa lpsychology and social analysis.
... quoted memes as a structure that carries information capable of being replicated, like slogans. Dennett (1990) described a meme as an object with three essential qualities: variation, heredity, and differential fitness. A meme should consist of some variations in terms of content, mode of dispersal, and form, and evolve with the changes in the cognitive as well as social environment. ...
Memes are not new concepts, but they have garnered popularity recently. They are a prevalent form of communication on various social media platforms. However, due to a lack of concrete literature (Al Rashdi, 2020), there is still some initial scepticism surrounding them. This paper uses a systematic literature review to create a pool of research papers to be examined to chart the conceptual development of memes, determine how they are used in different fields, and present a vision of memes in the near future. It identifies eleven areas which were studied in parallel to memes, suggesting possible meme applications and development. It adopts the PRISMA 2020 framework to ensure systematic screening and reporting of relevant papers from various databases.
... Following Dawkins (2006), McNamara (2011) defines a memeplex as a fuzzy, non-delineated concept or ideas, embodied by a word, phrase, image, riff, or gesture. Similar views are found in Dennett (1990) and Lynch (1996). The spread of an idea (memeplex) is rapid and uncontrollable, and usually a very wide circle of people can fall under its influence. ...
This paper is an effort to present our understanding of onyms as memetic entities. Here we made an attempt to define and analyse the essential characteristics of memeplexes and proper names. The analysis of the traditional and modern approaches to proper names is offered. According to these views, a proper name can be regarded as a concept, it defines a unique phenomenon and is actualised by social convention, thus being embedded into the onomastic landscape. These characteristics over lap with those of memeplexes. The study proposes insight into the similar features of memeplexes and Ukrainian proper names and concentrates on the defining aspects of memetic onyms (onymic memeplexes). An onymic memeplex is seen as any proper name possessing memetic qualities. All memeplexes are highly likely to possess the following key features: rapid spread, expression of social and cultural norms, longevity, adaptability, variability, revealing collective identity and defining cultural heritage. These aspects have many iterations in national and international onomastic landscapes.
... Según José Ivanhoe Vélez (2007), hay autores que defienden a la memética como una ciencia, ejemplo de ello son los trabajos de Susan Blackmore (2011) y Aaron Lynch (1998). Existen otras posturas más mesuradas y cuidadosas que la ven como una ciencia potencial, como lo postulan Daniel Dennett (1990) y Derek Gatherer (1998. Sin embargo, también existen quienes le hacen fuertes críticas como ciencia y que consideran que la memética se encuentra muy lejos de serlo (Sperber, 2005;Boyd y Richerson, 2003). ...
El presente texto muestra diferentes tipos, formas y funciones del silencio como prácti- ca social. Se sustenta en investigaciones transdisciplinarias que nos ayudan a pensar en la importancia de su existencia para reconocer sus múltiples significaciones; queremos resaltar que la elección de los silencios que aquí se presentan surge a partir de la interpela- ción y búsqueda de otras alternativas de comunicar en una sociedad invadida y avasallada por el ruido, y donde el reconocimiento de la palabra oral en el ámbito de lo político ha ido perdiendo sentido. Creemos que este primer acercamiento a los distintos tipos de si- lencio ayuda a perfilar la investigación y caracterización del silencio como acción política; de igual forma, esta tipología nos servirá de soporte para desvincularnos de los estudios hegemónicos escritos sobre el silencio donde es visto como el “arte de callar”.
... Memes. The term meme was made popular by Richard Dawkins [26] and introduced into mainstream philosophy and cultural studies by Daniel Dennett [27]. ...
This paper discusses, from a mathematician's point of view, the thesis formulated by Israel Gelfand, one of the greatest mathematicians of the 20th century, and one of the pioneers of mathematical biology: "There is only one thing which is more unreasonable than the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics in physics, and this is the unreasonable ineffectiveness of mathematics in biology."
... 2006), respektíve problémom, či je vôbec vhodné hovoriť o kultúrnej evolúcii a či nejde len o zdanlivú podobnosť medzi rozdielnymi sférami, pričom aplikácia princípov evolúcie na oblasť kultúry môže pôsobiť zavádzajúco a vytvárať viac problémov ako riešení (Pinker 1997). V príspevku tiež nebude priestor venovať sa pokusom vysvetliť rozvoj kumulatívnej kultúry na základe postulovania replikátorov (mémov), ako sa o to pokúša napríklad Dawkins (1976) či Dennett (1990), a teda ani kritike tejto pozície (Lewens 2006). V štúdii sa zameriam skôr na analýzu súčasného empirického výskumu, predovšetkým v oblasti vývinovej psychológie, a pokúsim sa špecifikovať typy reprezentácií a kognitívnych mechanizmov, ktoré mohli prispieť k rozvoju kumulatívnej kultúry, založenej na efektívnom sociálnom učení (zohrávajúcom kľúčovú úlohu napríklad v rámci teórie kultúrnej evolučnej psychológie, ktorú zastáva C. Heyesová (2018), alebo v rámci prístupu, ktorý obhajuje K. Sterelny (2012)). ...
... Considerando os estudos sobre os memes nas redes sociais na Internet desenvolvidos por autores como Blackmore (1999), Dennet (1990), Recuero (2006, 2009), Schifman (2014) a proposta desse estudo é problematizar se os memes podem se constituir num instrumento de mediação cultural e como um recurso que não deve ser desvinculado das práticas educativas. ...
O objeto de análise é a linguagem memética nas redes sociais na internet como
meio de apropriação tecnológica e de cultura de compartilhamento de
mensagens. Utilizo como referencial teórico e metodológico a análise crítica do
discurso formulada por Norman Fairclough (1989, 1992, 2001). Concluo que os
memes podem se constituir num instrumento de mediação cultural e de análise
crítica da política brasileira e também como um recurso que não deve ser
desvinculado das práticas educativas nas instituições escolares.
... One of the consequences of brevity is that the logical geography in chapter 1 is local. Focussing on closely related ideas in the recent past, chapter 1 identifies the framework developed in the book as "cultural evolutionary psychology," a direct descendant of "evolutionary psychology" (Barkow et al. 1992;Pinker 1994) and "cultural evolutionary theory" (Boyd & Richerson 1985;Campbell 1965;Cavalli-Sforza & Feldman 1981;Dennett 1990;Henrich 2015) (see Fig. 1). Cultural evolutionary psychology is like evolutionary psychology in having the human mind as its explanatory target, and like cultural evolutionary theory in emphasising the importance of social learning as a force in human evolution, but it differs from both of these approaches in suggesting that distinctively human cognitive mechanisms get their adaptive characteristics from cultural rather than genetic evolution. ...
Sociocultural developmental psychology can drive new directions in gadgetry science. We use autobiographical memory, a compound capacity incorporating episodic memory, as a case study. Autobiographical memory emerges late in development, supported by interactions with parents. Intervention research highlights the causal influence of these interactions, whereas cross-cultural research demonstrates culturally determined diversity. Different patterns of inheritance are discussed.
... Dahlbom 1994 . 127 Zob .Dennett 1987Dennett , 1988Dennett , 1990Dennett , 1995Dennett , 1996Dennett , 2006 Zob .Blackmore 1997Blackmore , 1999Blackmore , 2005Blackmore , 2006 itd . ebookpoint kopia dla: Robert Boroch robboroch@outlook.com ...
Boroch, R. 2016. Siedem bram memetyki — SBM2. Recepcja «Samolubnego genu» Richarda Dawkinsa w angielskiej literaturze przedmiotu w latach 1976–1989. Warszawa: BEL Studio, ss. 140.
... As Daniel Dennett said in a provocative way to demonstrate the radical shift of memetics : « A scholar is just a library's way of making another library. » (Dennett, 1990).These replications must be tracked down in order to account for the different chances of survival of these scientific data according to its properties (and according to the structure of the network or certain choices of propagators, if one adopts another standpoint). This evolutionary version of ANT, which would be coupled with Dennett's memetics, constitutes a research program that would make all these approaches more robust, thanks to digital traces A third generation of social sciences may find many insights in Dennett' works. ...
Social sciences were built from comparison methods assembling field works and data, either quantitative or qualitative. Big Data offers new opportunities to extend this requirement to build commensurable data sets. The paper tells the story of the two previous quantification eras (census and polls) in order to demonstrate the need for a new agency to be considered as the target of this new generation of social sciences: that of objects as Actor Network Theory proposed and of replications that propagate all over the digital networks. The case study of Latour's topofil of Boa Vista is revisited to explore how a qualitative method dedicated to comparison and an Actor Network Theory approach extended in a replication theory may offer new insights from any field study and may use the digital ressources to do so.
... Who or what is the ultimate beneficiary of all this selecting? (Dennett, 1990(Dennett, , 1995(Dennett, , 2001. ...
... The argument is somewhat intricate, and is based on the idea that a hypothesis about the world often includes simulations of other agents, and that these agents may have an incentive to influence anyone making decisions based on the distribution. While it is unclear to what extent this type of problem would affect any practical agent, it bears some semblance to aggressive memes, which do cause problems for human reasoning (Dennett, 1990). ...
The development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) promises to be a major event. Along with its many potential benefits, it also raises serious safety concerns (Bostrom, 2014). The intention of this paper is to provide an easily accessible and up-to-date collection of references for the emerging field of AGI safety. A significant number of safety problems for AGI have been identified. We list these, and survey recent research on solving them. We also cover works on how best to think of AGI from the limited knowledge we have today, predictions for when AGI will first be created, and what will happen after its creation. Finally, we review the current public policy on AGI.
... Definicja lub koncepcja charakterystyki memu F.T. Cloak (1975) 24 "instrukcje kulturowe": i-culture -(internal; instruction) proces nerwowy w mózgu, m-culture -(material; artifacts) środowiskowa realizacja i-culture R. Dawkins (1976Dawkins ( , 1982 Grant (1990 -leksykon) 30 infekcyjne/kopiowane przez mózgi wzorce informacji + wehikuł memów A. Lynch (1991Lynch ( , 1996 31 "wzorce informacji"; idee, … znaki D. Dennett (1990Dennett ( , 1995 kopiowane i przekazywane idee kodowane przez mózgi także informacja kopiowalna poza mózgiem (?) + wehikuł i "realizacja" R. Brodie (1991) 33 wirus -informacja infekująca umysł M. Biedrzycki (1998) 34 mem -porcja informacji, replikator infekcyjny i jego reprezentacja w strukturach mózgu oraz socjotyp (społeczny fenotyp) w ideosferze; także memetykieta (metamem?) ...
Streszczenie Koncepcja memu, mimo 40 lat dyskusji, budzi kontrowersje. Problemy stwarzają: charakterysty-ka memów jako zjawisk biologicznych, kulturowych i informatycznych, odgraniczenie procesów nerwowych będących i nie będących memami, neurofizjologiczne podłoże memów, pojemność informatyczna memów oraz mechanizmy ich propagacji i ewolucji, a w konsekwencji tego sto-sowana terminologia. Koniecznym warunkiem istnienia memów jest ich utrwalanie w pamięci. Pamięć jako zjawisko neurofizjologiczne opiera się na mechanizmach kodowania bodźców, su-mowania pobudzeń, modyfikacji struktury i czynności neuronów oraz modyfikacji siły powiązań w sieciach neuronalnych. Trzy podstawowe (ale nie jedyne) paradygmaty opisujące te zjawiska to: Pawłowowsko-Skinnerowski model wzmacniania bodźców, Hebbowski model wagi synaps i standar-dowy model konsolidacji pamięci L. Squire'a. Mechanizmy te pozwalają wyjaśnić podłoże wyróżnio-nych przez E. Tulvinga rodzajów pamięci: deklaratywnej i proceduralnej. Wyniki badania procesów poznawczych metodami obrazowania czynności mózgu sugerują, że możliwe jest zidentyfikowanie neuronalnych reprezentacji memów, będących postulowanymi przez D. Hebba i J. Konorskiego "jednostkami gnostycznymi" − detektorami wzorców. Niewykluczone, że anatomicznym ich odpo-wiednikiem są minikolumienki korowe. Przekaz informacji w procesach kognitywnych i kulturowych wiąże się z kodowaniem i permanentnym przekodowywaniem sygnałów. Mechanizmy kodowania neuronalnego (kod topograficzny, kod częstotliwościowy i kod chemiczny) są już wystarczająco dobrze scharakteryzowane dla potrzeb memetyki. Obrazowanie topograficznej lokalizacji słów (po-jęć?) w korze mózgowej ludzi wskazuje, że mogą tu działać podstawowe prawa neurobiologii, m.in. zasada topograficznego odwzorowania bodźców (zasada miejsca) i zasada wzmacniania kontrastu. Odwołująca się do neurobiologii charakterystyka memów winna uwzględniać procesy kodowania
... Who or what is the ultimate beneficiary of all this selecting? (Dennett, 1990(Dennett, , 1995(Dennett, , 2001. ...
Are there any such things as mind viruses? By analogy with biological parasites, such cultural items are supposed to subvert or harm the interests of their host. Most popularly, this notion has been associated with Richard Dawkins’ concept of the “selfish meme”. To unpack this claim, we first clear some conceptual ground around the notions of cultural adaptation and units of culture. We then formulate Millikan’s challenge: how can cultural items (‘memes’ or whatever you want to call them) develop novel purposes of their own, cross-cutting or subverting human purposes? If this central challenge is not met, talk of cultural ‘parasites’ or ‘selfish memes’ will be vacuous or superfluous. First, we discuss why other attempts to answer Millikan’s challenge have failed. In particular, we put to rest the claims of panmemetics, a somewhat sinister worldview according to which human culture is nothing more than a swarm of selfish agents, plotting and scheming behind the scenes. Next, we reject a more reasonable, but still overly permissive approach to mind parasites, which equates them with biologically maladaptive culture. Finally, we present our own answer to Millikan’s challenge: certain systems of misbelief can be fruitfully treated as selfish agents developing novel purposes of their own. In fact, we venture that this is the only way to properly understand them. Systems of misbelief are designed to spread in a viral-like manner, without any regard to the interests of their human hosts, and with possibly harmful consequences. As a proof of concept, we discuss witchcraft beliefs in early modern Europe. In this particular case, treating cultural representations as “parasites” – i.e. adopting the meme’s eye view – promises to shed new light on a mystery that historians and social scientists have been wrestling with for decades.
Introduction . The article analyzes various approaches to studying Internet memes as key elements of modern media communication. It highlights the need for a comprehensive description of memes, considering their continuous evolution.
Methodology and sources . The study is based on works in cognitive linguistics, philosophy, and media communications, focusing on the evolution and function of memes. The research employs an analytical review of literature on meme definition, typology, and roles in socio-cultural and online communication.
Results and discussion . Research in memetics and media communication emphasizes the importance of distinguishing “meme” from “Internet meme”, as the latter represents a polycode text within the broader concept of memes. Internet memes play a key role in reflecting linguistic and cultural changes but remain difficult to classify due to their variability. Effective study methods include digital, visual, and discourse analysis, along with construction grammar, to account for their multimodal nature. A significant research focus is the development of meme typologies based on their functions in political, advertising, scientific, and everyday discourse, as well as their continuously evolving formation trends."
Conclusion . The prospects for studying Internet memes include conceptualization of intertextuality and examining the mechanisms of meme reutilization. The rapid variability of the verbal and non-verbal components of Internet memes, the high frequency use of intertextual references and intentionally distorted lexical and grammatical structures make it relevant to study the functioning of intertext and the formation of productive models and language patterns in Internet memes.
Richard Dawkins, in his The God Delusion, argued strongly for atheism. Alister McGrath picked up the challenge and argued that Dawkins is wrong and that his arguments are very weak. This article, part of a symposium honoring McGrath looks in detail at the God Delusion, and at two books by McGrath, Dawkins’ God, written before The God Delusion appeared but addressing the arguments of that book, and The Dawkins’ Delusion, co‐authored with his wife Joanna Collicutt McGrath that appeared after The God Delusion. It is argued that the debate is still timely and that sociological factors are extremely important.
The use of memes has become increasingly widespread in political discourse. However, there is a dearth of philosophical discussion on memes and their impact on political discourse. This paper addresses this gap in the literature and bridges the divide between the empirical and philosophical work on memes by offering a functionalist account which allows for a more in-depth analysis of the role memes play in political discourse. We offer a taxonomy of the eight key characteristics of memes: 1. humor; 2. fostering in-group identity; 3. caricatures; 4. replicability; 5. context collapse; 6. hermeneutical resources; 7. low reputational cost; 8. signaling. On the positive side, the propensity memes have to foster in-group identity and to function as a hermeneutical tool for people to make sense of their own experiences are a boon especially to marginalized communities. On the flipside, the creation of an in-group/out-group dynamic can also be exploited by sinister political actors, especially since the low reputational cost of circulating memes allows for plausible deniability. We use the analysis in this paper to jumpstart a discussion of how we should understand memes and debate which norms should govern the novel speech act of posting a meme given its impact on political discourse. Based on our findings, we end with a call to adopt stricter norms for the act of posting a meme.
E tanulmány célja bemutatni a tömeges trollkodás, cyberbullying és az internetes mémek jellemezte sajátos szubkultúra működését a gyakorlatban egy Facebook-csoporton belül végzett résztvevő megfigyelés alapján. A GRDG 2 2 : Electric Boogaloo csoport tagjai öt napon keresztül troll üzenetekkel szervezetten bombázták az OVB nevű pénzügyi közvetítő vállalat közösségimédia-felületeit, direkt üzenetekkel árasztották el a vállalat dolgozóit, mindezt pedig a csoporton belül szervezték és dokumentálták. Ezalatt a témában több mint 300 internetes mémalkotást is készítettek, amellyel e diskurzust is tematizálták. E tanulmány ezen alkotások elemzésén keresztül mutatja be a csoporthumor, az internetes mémközösségekre jellemző ún. lulz logikája, a szubkulturális műveltség és határrendészet működését a gyakorlatban, beleértve a befogadói reakciókat is, a mémalkotások egyedi vonásaira való tekintettel.
Los fenómenos de crecimiento de la ciudad, frecuentemente ligados a las migraciones o a un desarrollo sorpresivo de la industria, tienen un impacto muchas veces violento en la imagen de la ciudad y en su percepción. Los límites de lo urbano son difusos y sucede con frecuencia que el sistema urbano (los servicios, los medios de transporto e incluso la vivienda) no se desarrolla con la suficiente velocidad como para dar una solución a las necesidades de los nuevos habitantes de la periferia.
La respuesta de estos ciudadanos es automática: son ellos quienes se encargan de construir la ciudad. Es así que comienzan a surgir nuevos ambientes urbanos configurados por una arquitectura sin arquitectos se surge lentamente a partir de las necesidades de sus usuarios/habitantes, que son también sus constructores. A medida que los recursos económicos lo permitan, el nuevo ciudadano añadirá pedazos, habitaciones, niveles y ornamento a su vivienda, con el fin de transformarla en un lugar que satisfaga sus necesidades.
Este analiza la estética, entendida ésta como la relación entre el sujeto y el objeto, de la nueva arquitectura espontánea en la periferia de la ciudad de Lima. Se analizarán entonces los aspectos formales y su relación con los ámbitos sociales y culturales. Las fuentes de inspiración de estas edificaciones son varias: en algunos casos se hace referencia a elementos arquitectónicos de proyectos realizados en los barrios más tradicionales de la ciudad moderna; existen también aquellos que parecen ser absolutamente originales, pero que posiblemente pertenezcan a un imaginario más profundo, proveniente de la cultura tradicional del nuevo habitante urbano; se presentan, además, otros elementos, cuyo origen es más difícil de trazar.
La mezcla de lenguajes, estilos y elementos formales, producto de un conjunto de dinámicas socio-culturales, se identifica con el término huachafo. Es una arquitectura popular, pero no folclórica, ligada al nuevo habitante de la ciudad moderna. Es, en suma, una arquitectura compleja, posiblemente pobre en los elementos compositivos utilizados por los arquitectos, sin embargo rica en la utilización de recursos, que permite a los habitantes una mayor identificación con su vivienda como producto construido.
A coletânea reúne uma série de textos inéditos e originais, associados a republicações de artigos que ajudaram a fundar o campo dos estudos sobre memes. A obra reflete a diversidade de abordagens e interesses que atravessam o desenvolvimento recente do campo. É, portanto, um livro voltado àqueles que desejam explorar o universo da pesquisa sobre memes de internet, entender o que há de importante nesse debate e perceber que papéis o meme desempenha na comunicação cotidiana.
Contagious conspiracy theories: Coronavirus theories as memes
Veszelszki, Ágnes
Conspiracy theories attribute a series of events, whether they are interrelated or otherwise, to some malignant activity of usually influential people. Such theories are actually irrefutable since they treat evidence supporting and undermining their arguments in an asymmetrical manner: they accept supporting evidence without further ado but they claim that contrary pieces of evidence are misleading, deceptive, or even unscientific. Cultural epidemiology accounts for their widespread acceptance by three reasons: first, their intuitive appeal (claims that fulfil our intuitive, non-conscious, automatic and spontaneous expectations have the most chance of becoming popular); second, the mimicry of scientific statements (they appear to employ scientific methods, language, and system of institutions), and third, their immunity to criticism (they defy any empirical evidence). The paper studies conspiracy theories that spread in the online media with respect to the coronavirus pandemic of 2019–2020 in two respects: it analyses such theories as memes, treating the latter as units of cultural epidemiology, and then it presents a selection of internet memes from 2020 that treat conspiracy theories in a critical perspective.
Keywords: conspiracy theory, memetics, internet meme, pseudoscience, coronavirus pandemic
Esta tesis es una propuesta para usar los memes como fuentes históricas para entender los imaginarios de guerra y paz en el plebiscito de Colombia en el 2016. Desde una perspectiva histórica esta investigación entiende la internet como un archivo, un lugar donde algunos objetos como imágenes, videos, audios fueron usados para hacer actos lingüísticos de carácter irónico: “memes” para representar la realidad política colombiana. Este texto presenta una critica al concepto de “meme” y una definición del fenómeno de los “memes” en Colombia, una contextualización de la situación política y un análisis de algunos memes. Haciendo uso del acontecimiento del plebiscito, este trabajó examina los “memes” del acontecimiento desde la perspectiva del análisis crítico del discurso como una ventana para acceder a estos imaginarios. This thesis is a proposal to use the memes as historical sources to understand the war and peace imaginaries in the 2016 colombian plebiscite. From a historical perspective this research understands the internet as an archive, a place where some products like images, videos, audios were used to do ironic linguistic acts: “memes” to represent the Colombian politic reality. This text presents a critic to the concept of “meme” and a definition of the phenomenon of “memes” in Colombia, a contextualization of the political situation and an analysis of some memes. Using the 2016 Colombian peace plebiscite, this work examines the “memes” of the political event under the perspective of the critical discourse analysis as a window to understand the imaginaries of the peace and war of their users in 2016.
মূলত এখানে চলচ্চিত্রের দৃশ্য ও সংলাপ থেকে নির্মিত মিমসমূহ গ্রাহকদের ধারণাগত সীমাবদ্ধতার কারণে কীভাবে ভুল বার্তা দেয় তা পর্যালোচনার মাধ্যমে তত্ত্বটির ধারণা প্রতিষ্ঠিত করা হয়েছে।
This chapter provides an overview of memetics, starting with relevant terminology and examples of applications of memetics in other disciplines in Sect. 2.1. Section 2.2 highlights important contributions as well as cornerstones of the so-called “meme’s eye view”. Section 2.3 turns to some of the controversies in meme theory before Sects. 2.4–2.6 give an overview of the central notions of replicators, interactors, and memeplexes.
While organizational and business researchers have fruitfully applied evolutionary theory at various levels of analysis, few utilize organizational memetics to capture the complexity of organizational culture. This article contributes to bridging the gap between theorizing and empirical research on organizational memetics by raising and addressing the question if and how the diversity and interdependence of organizational memes can be captured. To tackle this exploratory question, the authors present a comprehensive literature review on organizational memetics and demonstrate how meme mapping can be used to highlight interdependencies among organizational memes based on the case of a German consulting firm. Besides revealing the most prominent memes in the complex memetic system of the organization, the meme map illustrates connections of varying strength among the organizational memes, thereby supporting the argument that organizational memetics can help to expose attractive memes that are important for both the stability and change of organizational cultures.
The paper presented in this chapter contributes to evolutionary approaches in economics and related disciplines by discussing the potential of a memetic perspective. The central aim of this endeavor is to reveal and establish connections between various rather fragmented lines of research. The point of departure is the observation that both imitation and cultural evolution have not received sufficient attention from evolutionary economists. Building on a review of criticisms and definitions of both memes and cognate entities in evolutionary economics, an “informationalist” perspective is proposed that is also in line with the notion of complex population systems. Moreover, by shedding light on similarities and implications of both memetics and the rule-based approach to evolutionary economics, we are able to create links to imitation heuristics and evolutionary institutionalism. In summary, the chapter lays out four propositions that can be used as starting points for further work at the frontiers of memetics and evolutionary social science.
This book explores the question of whether and how meme theory or “memetics” can be fruitfully utilized in evolutionary economics and proposes an approach known as “economemetics” which is a combination of meme theory and complexity theory that has the potential to combat the fragmentation of evolutionary economics while re-connecting the field with cultural evolutionary theory. By studying the intersection of cultural and economic evolution, complexity economics, computational economics, and network science, the authors establish a connection between memetics and evolutionary economics at different levels of investigation.
The book first demonstrates how a memetic approach to economic evolution can help to reveal links and build bridges between different but complementary concepts in evolutionary economics. Secondly, it shows how organizational memetics can help to capture the complexity of organizational culture using meme mapping. Thirdly, it presents an agent-based simulation model of knowledge diffusion and assimilation in innovation networks from a memetic perspective. The authors then use agent-based modeling and social network analysis to evaluate the diffusion pattern of the Ice Bucket Challenge as an example of a “viral meme.” Lastly, the book discusses the central issues of agency, creativity, and normativity in the context of economemetics and suggests promising avenues for further research.
The manner in which our ancestors and ancestor species negotiated their physical and social environments has had consequences for how we engage with artefacts today. Like language, the ability to attribute significance and meaning to artefacts is evolved and consists of a suite of interconnected adaptations. A model is articulated which, it is claimed, accommodates all the possible ways in which humans attribute significance and meaning to artefacts. It consists of two halves. Each element is considered in turn and accounts of their evolutionary origins are constructed. This sequence moves from the oldest to the most recently evolved: thus the first half - the sensory-kinetic-affective mode - includes ancient, reflexive, sensory (including the physical and kinetic) and perceptual responses originating in our ancestor species’ negotiation of their organic and inorganic environment; and the affective responses such as technical and aesthetic pleasures arising from such responses. The second half – the symbolic-narrative mode - embraces the attribution of symbolic or narrative meanings to artefacts which, I propose, prefigured, or co-evolved with the emergence of language and, like language, is an expression of symbolic thought. I argue that where symbolic meaning is intentionally ascribed to an artefact, some account will be taken of the data delivered by the sensory-kinetic- affective mode, such that those intending the meaning will often seek consonance between that data and the meaning intended, in order to strengthen the power of the artefact to act as an agent of social mediation. A central role is ascribed to a sensibility towards style, as the mechanism by which the two halves are united. This sensibility is highly attuned to physical characteristics, with the objective of intuiting something of the character, make-up and therefore, likely future behaviour of the maker, owner, or other with whom the artefact is associated. I call this resultant data tacit social intelligence. It is argued that practices which evolved during the 100,000 years or so in which Homo sapiens created artefacts by hand, using simple tools, despite the changed circumstances of manufacture, economics, technology and social and political organisation, have persisted into historical times and remain active today . In particular , artefacts continue physically to represent accumulations of behaviour. Thus, in creating or choosing to be associated with an artefact, we are conscious that others will interrogate it for signs of the behavioural values we are seen to esteem.
Dans cet article, nous proposons une piste de réflexion épistémologique sur le nécessaire renouvellement des grilles de lecture des services de renseignement face à des phénomènes qui ne répondent plus aux modèles classiques issus de la Guerre froide et, plus récemment, de la lutte contre les réseaux terroristes. Nous prendrons le cas de la lutte contre la radicalisation violente comme exemple des difficultés et des paradoxes auxquels sont aujourd’hui confrontés des services de renseignement toujours mieux équipés et pourtant souvent démunis face à ces phénomènes. En combinant trois concepts théoriques empruntés librement à diverses disciplines (émergence, mémétique et intégration conceptuelle), nous proposons un modèle théorique d’analyse des phénomènes de radicalisation.
The task of this essay is to put biological individuals in formal terms. This approach is not directly interested in matters of time (for example, in evolution), but rather in the formal shape of biological objects. So it is radically different from natural science. In his later years, Wittgenstein made similar investigations in psychology and mathematics. Unfortunately, he found no time to make extensive remarks on philosophy of biology. This is what we are going to advance here.
Depuis 2008, le site communautaire 9gag rassemble des utilisateurs du monde entier en leur permettant de mettre en ligne des publications (images, vidéos, petites histoires) visibles par tous les internautes, sans se concentrer sur les relations entre utilisateurs. Les publications sont pour la plupart rédigées en anglais, afin de favoriser le développement du site et l'échange d'items culturels. Mais si certaines frontières sont effectivement franchies, c'est au prix d'une seule langue et d'éléments culturels majoritairement anglo-américaines. Ainsi, les publications dans d'autres langues se retrouvent critiquées par les utilisateurs, alors que certains pays ou groupes sont régulièrement la cible de moqueries. Dans cette perspective, on retrouve ici la prévalence des prédiscours (Paveau, 2006) et la reproduction d'items culturels (Enfield & Levinson, 2006) afin d'assurer une popularité maximale des publications. Notre analyse de cette communauté d'utilisateurs porte sur un corpus de 446 publications 9gag mises en ligne entre août et septembre 2012. A travers cette étude, nous souhaitons explorer deux questions : 1) est-il possible de rassembler plusieurs univers symboliques sans utiliser les mêmes références communes ou une même langue (Bucholz & Hall, 2005) ; 2) se pourrait-il que les références anglo-américaines ne soient plus la propriété de leur aire culturelle d'origine, mais qu'elles soient utilisées afin de constituer de nouveaux éléments de communalité (Lemieux, 2009) ? Au cours de cette analyse, nous garderons à l'esprit que la culture est ici utilisée comme excuse pour permettre l'effacement des différences (Dervin, 2011 ; Wagener, 2012) afin de construire une identité imaginée qui pourrait échapper aux troubles du monde en dehors d'internet (Boudon, 2005).
Autant dans la science que dans la philosophie, le savoir est l’instrument qui nous met en rapport à tout objet. C’est-à-dire que c’est notre savoir qui prédétermine la manière dont on fait usage à appréhender et à comprendre l’objet. Par conséquent, il devient une question de décision immédiate à choisir le type de rapport par lequel nous nous situons envers l’objet visé, si le savoir même est ou pas capable à appréhender l’objet d’une manière immédiate. Dans le présent texte on discutera les deux fondamentales situations du savoir : tel que quelque chose d’immédiat ; et tel que médiat. Le paradigme du savoir immédiat est l’empirisme ; et celui du savoir médiat est l’idéalisme. Nous traiterons ici l’empirisme sous deux aspects : celui de la légitimité qu’il prétend par ses propres assertions et celui regardant la manière par laquelle apparaît-il dans le premier chapitre de la Phénoménologie de l’Esprit de G. W. F. Hegel. L’Idéalisme sera lui aussi observé tel qu’il apparaît par le mouvement interne de la pensée, par le moyen dont le négatif ou l’universel se sert à prendre sa place dans la raison philosophique dès le moment où l’empirisme s’écroule par les entraves de ses propres insuffisances intelligibles.
Memetics is a research approach which applies evolutionary ideas and terminology to cultural phenomena. The core idea of memetics is the existence of the units of cultural evolution which are attributed autonomous replicating goals. Of course, such a controversial concept has gained many devoted adherents as well as its determined opponents. The paper discusses the theoretical difficulties of memetics. The first part discusses the analogy of genes and memes. The theme of the second part is the ontology of a cultural replicator. Finally, the third part presents the main issues related to manners of transmission and the adaptation of memes. In short, the aim of the paper is an evaluation of the explanatory potential of memetics. The explanatory potential of memetics will be evaluated in terms of its intrinsic consistency, the degree of its confirmation, the falsifiability of the theses which were elaborated on its basis and the heuristic value of this approach.
This paper will explore the notion of digital otherness by examining creative practice in a 21st century context of art that is neither belonging to or a part of classifiable genres of the academy. It will look to the notion of otherness through art in the proliferation of the internet of things and consider a position of how memes, creative apps, and fan art have replaced contemporary art as being 'of art' in a global context through the understanding of the space of social media and browser-based networks to derive at a conclusion which posits Hegel through Das Absolute as a means of coming to terms with digital otherness in the space of the academy for the purpose of aesthetic critique.
Cognitive gadgets are distinctively human neurocognitive mechanisms – such as imitation, mindreading, and language - that have been shaped by cultural rather than genetic evolution. New gadgets emerge, not by genetic mutation, but by innovations in cognitive development; they are specialised cognitive mechanisms built by general cognitive mechanisms using information from the sociocultural environment. Innovations are passed on to subsequent generations, not by DNA replication, but through social learning: people with a new cognitive mechanism pass it on to others through social interaction. And some of the new mechanisms, like literacy, have spread through human populations, while others have died out, because the holders had more students, not just more babies. The cognitive gadgets hypothesis is developed through four case studies, drawing on evidence from comparative and developmental psychology, experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience. The framework employed, cultural evolutionary psychology, a descendant of evolutionary psychology and cultural evolutionary theory, addresses parallel issues across the cognitive and behavioural sciences. In common with evo-devo and the extended evolutionary synthesis, cultural evolutionary psychology underlines the importance of developmental processes and environmental factors in the emergence of human cognition. In common with computational approaches (deep learning, predictive coding, hierarchical reinforcement learning, causal modelling) it emphasises the power of general-purpose mechanisms of learning. However, cultural evolutionary psychology also challenges use of the behavioural gambit in economics and behavioral ecology, and rejects the view that human minds are composed of ‘innate modules’ or ‘cognitive instincts’.
An exploration of the meme of Heroism within Western culture that gains its footing in an analysis of Beowulf and expands its reach to popular Abstract Expressionism, Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., and the controversial figure of Karen Silkwood. Text is salvaged from high school literature classes, so includes uncomely peer edits.
Renewed interest in authorial and rehearsal processes, as well as new investigations of audience knowledges and experiences, are prompting a rethinking of Shakespearean source study to incorporate 21st century perspectives and to make use of the affordances of digital data processing. This article does not suggest new sources, but rather it shows that scholars are in the process of rethinking Shakespearean source study in light of current ways of thinking about authorship, memory, and audiences. An important element of current thinking is an awareness of the need to sustain an understanding of diverse early modern cultures. Because Shakespeare is such a central figure of English authorship, how Shakespearean sources, compositional processes, and cultural contexts are understood, taught, edited, and studied continues to matter. In all of these areas, digital technologies provide new opportunities and challenges.
Este libro reune una serie de trabajos inéditos de prestigiados investigadores activos en diversas universidades del país, que, a partir de sus propias investigaciones, argumentan acerca de diversos procesos marginalizantes. Como factores clave, en estos procesos, se identifican: la cultura (en su sentido más amplio), los intereses creados, y el avance tecnológico.
After an introduction, the abstract idea of evolution is analysed into four processes which are illustrated with respect to a simple evolutionary game. A brief history of evolutionary ideas in the social sciences is given, illustrating the different ways in which the idea of evolution has been used. The technique of Genetic Algorithms (GA) is then described and discussed including the representation of the problem and the composition of the initial population, the Fitness Function, the reproduction process, the Genetic Operators, issues of convergence and some generalisations of the approach including endogenising the evolutionary process. Genetic Programming (GP) and Classifier Systems (CS) are also briefly introduced as potential developments of GA. Four detailed examples of social science applications of evolutionary techniques are then presented: the use of GA in the Arifovic “cobweb” model, using CS in a model of price setting developed by Moss, the role of GP in understanding decision-making processes in a stock market model and relating evolutionary ideas to social science in a model of survival for “strict” churches. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the prospects and difficulties of using the idea of biological evolution in the social sciences.
Starting with objectively laconic questions I would like to focus for a moment on the Humanities and encourage to some reflection. For some time researchers have been increasingly interested in entrepreneurship and the commercialisation of research. This phenomenon is discussed in the popular media, but also, perhaps especially, in the universities. The result is various training courses, workshops and conferences aimed at improving university-business collaboration. These have also produced reports and strategies outlining development opportunities. Young researchers (but not only) are encouraged to conduct innovative and modern research that will answer real market needs. And all this work is said to be very important for the development of the country–especially its competitiveness. While it is impossible to disagree with the desire for national improvement, this emphasis on commercialisation does immediately raise a question about where the Humanities fit in. How can they participate into this approach? In which direction should they develop? Can the development of Digital Humanities and media literacy make a difference in a field that is otherwise in danger of being seen as irrelevant to contemporary trends? Rozpoczynając od dość lakonicznych pytań chciałabym na chwilę skupić uwagę właśnie na humanistach i zachęcić do pewnej refleksji. Otóż od pewnego czasu zauważa się coraz większe zainteresowanie przedsiębiorczością naukowców. Mówi się o tym już nie tylko w mediach, ale coraz częściej pod strzechami samych uczelni wyższych. Odbywają się różne szkolenia, warsztaty oraz konferencje, podczas których zachęca się do budowania współpracy uczelnia – biznes. Powstają raporty i strategie ukazujące możliwości rozwoju. Młodzi badacze, z resztą nie tylko oni, są zachęcani do prowadzenia innowacyjnych i nowoczesnych badań, na które znajdą się realni odbiorcy z sektora gospodarki. Wskazuje się, że ma to duże znaczenie dla rozwoju państwa – szczególnie jego konkurencyjności. I nie można się z tym nie zgodzić, ale od razu nasuwa się pytanie, gdzie w tym wszystkim jest miejsce dla humanistów? Jak oni mogą się w to włączyć? W jakim kierunku powinna się rozwijać humanistyka? Czy rozwój cyfrowej humanistyki i podnoszenie kompetencji medialnych może coś zmienić w obszarze, który odstaje od współczesnych trendów? En commençant par des questions objectivement laconiques, j’aimerais attirer l’attention un instant sur les sciences humaines et susciter une réflexion. Depuis quelque temps, les chercheurs s’intéressent de plus en plus à l’entrepreneuriat et à la commercialisation de la recherche. Ce phénomène fait l’objet de discussions dans les médias populaires, mais aussi, et peut-être tout particulièrement, dans les universités. Il en résulte divers cours de formation, ateliers et conférences axés sur les moyens d’améliorer la collaboration entre universités et entreprises. Par la suite, des rapports et des stratégies exposant des possibilités de développement ont également été produits. Les jeunes chercheurs (mais non exclusivement) sont encouragés à mener des recherches innovatrices et modernes qui répondront aux besoins réels du marché. Et l’on dit que tout ce travail est très important pour le développement du pays, particulièrement pour la compétitivité. Bien qu’il soit impossible d’être en désaccord avec la volonté d’amélioration nationale, cette emphase sur la commercialisation soulève immédiatement la question de savoir où se situent les sciences humaines dans tout cela. Comment peuvent-elles participer dans le cadre de cette approche? Quelle est la direction vers laquelle elles devraient se développer? Le développement des humanités numériques et des compétences médiatiques peuvent-elles faire une différence dans un domaine qui, par ailleurs, risque d’être perçu comme n’ayant aucun rapport avec les tendances contemporaines?
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