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Ideas to die for
By James | July 8, 2007
Dan Dennett talks about toxic memes and their virus-like ability to wipe out entire cultures. Dennett’s assertion that memes are, in some cases (communism, capitalism, Islam, Catholicism, and many more), essentially deadly parasites is an interesting perspective.
As interesting as Dennett’s ideas are, I tend to take a more simplistic view. While memes may be wiping out cultures, languages, and traditions I don’t blame the meme as Dennett does. I think it’s as natural an occurrence as ordinary, every-day pack behavior: The dominant “pack” - or culture/society/sect in our case - will ultimately be the most genetically successful.
Topics: History, Culture, Politics, Religion, Videos, Ideas, Education, Propaganda, Philosophy |