#191 Susan Blackmore: How Memetics Works
Dr. Susan Blackmore is a psychologist, lecturer and writer researching consciousness, memes, and anomalous experiences, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Plymouth. She is best known for her book The Meme Machine, and has written or contributed to over 40 books, mostly on consciousness.
In this episode, we focus on memetics. First, Dr. Blackmore gives a proper definition of memetics, and then we talk about some specific criticisms, some of them coming from my interviews with Drs. Robert Boyd and Peter Richerson, namely units of culture, and memes as viruses. We briefly discuss free will, and then move on to talk about imitation as the basis for memetics, and other cognitive mechanisms that an animal needs to have culture and memes. Toward the end, we also talk about how new technologies, like the internet, are changing the way memetics works.
Time Links:
What is memetics about?
Can we talk about a “unit of culture”?
Memes as viruses?
Do we really have free will?
Why are certain memes bad for us?
Imitation as a basis for memetics
Do other animals also have memes?
Biases in culture/meme transmission
Could memetics give us a new approach to explain evolutionary mysteries?
New technologies and their impact on memetics
Follow Dr. Blackmore’s work!
Follow Dr. Blackmore’s work:
Website: https://www.susanblackmore.uk/
Articles on Researchgate: https://bit.ly/2Vy4Rx9
Books on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2UJrU3K
Susan Blackmore: Memes and “temes” (TED talk): https://bit.ly/2XYX757
The Meme Machine: https://amzn.to/2ZSc5vs
The Selfish Gene: https://amzn.to/2DAOjug
A couple of relevant articles:
Memes and the evolution of religion: We need memetics, too: https://bit.ly/2GQRzDJ
Delusions of consciousness: https://bit.ly/2voGVOf
Memetics Does Provide a Useful Way of Understanding Cultural Evolution: https://bit.ly/2PEnSsC