Are your ideas actually yours, or just passing viruses?
In 1976, Richard Dawkins proposed that culture evolves via 'memes'—units of information that replicate, vary, and compete just like genes. From catchy tunes to religious beliefs, these self-replicating entities may shape our minds, sometimes acting as beneficial tools and other times as parasitic 'viruses of the mind.'
The concept of memetics rests on 'Universal Darwinism': the principle that any process involving the copying, variation, and selective retention of information is evolutionary. Dawkins coined the term 'meme' to describe the cultural equivalent of a gene, suggesting that ideas, fashions, and technologies function as replicators. When these units group together, they form 'memeplexes'—complexes of co-adapted memes that include everything from languages to scientific theories.
The field is divided into two primary schools: internalists and externalists. Internalists, such as Aaron Lynch and Richard Brodie, view memes as mental entities or units of information residing within the brain. Externalists, including Derek Gatherer, argue that memes should be defined as observable cultural artifacts and behaviors, noting that internal brain states are difficult to quantify scientifically. While the debate grew heated enough to prompt a 1998 symposium to call for an end to definitional disputes, modern neuroimaging has begun to show how 'internal memes' can be observed in response to external stimuli.
Despite its influence, memetics faces significant academic scrutiny. Biologist Stephen Jay Gould famously dismissed it as a 'meaningless metaphor,' and critics argue that cultural items are reproduced rather than directly imitated. Others suggest that the analogy to biological genes is flawed. Nevertheless, the framework continues to influence discussions on internet culture and the evolution of human consciousness, with thinkers like Daniel Dennett suggesting that human consciousness itself may be a vast complex of memes.
Source: Memetics
