= 27d567bc2d48d9f40e9ccc20ea370b15)
timtyler comments on Recognizing memetic infections and forging resistance memes - Less Wrong
You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.
= 783df68a0f980790206b9ea87794c5b6)
Loading…= b715d02e85f7b3b4ae65ca3d3e450868)
Subscribe to RSS Feed
Powered by Reddit
= f037147d6e6c911a85753b9abdedda8d)
You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.
Comments (35)
Religion is sometimes considered to be an example of a debated case. Dawkins claims it is a "virus of the mind" - while others emphasise religion's adaptive aspects. Of course, nobody (in the know) seriously doubts whether it is largely "memetic", but whether it is "parasitic" is a debated issue.
For a case where the issue is whether someting is memetic or genetic, consider adaptions to language. It is often not clear whether the fit between humans and language is more the result of organic adaptations or cultural adaptations.
Sure, people may argue about whether or not religion is harmful, but that is not the same as agreeing about whether it is harmful and still arguing about whether it is a "disease".
Harmful human cultural practices are classified as being parasites, competitors or amensalists in memetics. However there are hardly any competitors or amensalists hosted by humans - since most cultural practices need to benefit from their hosts by draining them of resources in order to exist - except for a few memetic hitchhikers.
I think if you deny deleterious cultural practices can usefully be classified as a form of parasitism then you must do so on the basis of some kind of criticism of the memetic framework. As far as I know the technical criticisms of memetics are all bogus. So: the most critics can say is that they don't like the idea - or that they find it distasteful.