By David M. Keirsey
A recent book by Susan Blackmore, The Meme Machine provides a nice overview and advance on the subject of memes. Susan's book nicely incorporates a lot of the progress in her book in understanding the relationship between memes and genes. She makes, finally, a clear case for memes. This is because memes and genes are clearly in two separate major levels of material and functional complexity. Much of today's human society can be understood by understanding the differences and commonalities between genes and memes as separate (but linked) replicates. Memes for the last 10,000 years has clearly outdistanced genes for the effect of a restructuring and growth of the human race.
I see a parallel in Genes and Memes, with the transition between procaryotes (bacteria) and multi-cellular eucaryotes (e.g., animalia, plantae, fungi), presented clearly in the Evolution of Individuality by Leo Buss (which unfortunately is difficult to read because of the technicality of biology involved). Also, I am sure that the analogy can be extended further down (to bosons and fermions, for example) and further up.
In fact, I am busy trying to build "wemes"and a "wemeplex" using my father's workin human personality. Huh?!
By the way, weme is a new symbol meme (created November 5, 1999), so propagate away. Of course, people in business aren't clueless of all the conceptual work done in memes so, the weme concept (by another name) is the current hot topic (July 22, 2000) as in www.ideavirus.com.
Hence, we are witnessing another Cambrian explosion (or maybe Ediacarian), except it is on the web. The disconnect between wemes and memes as separate replicates is producing a major phase transition at a major level of complexity within our life times.
There seven levels of material complexity that occurred in our involution. The latest, before the explosion of the web, was human civilization. Human civilization is based on the word and the tool: external information carriers. The tool was the first visible artifact of this phase transition, with the human species growing dominant over (and eventually replacing most) land-based large predators and herbivores (see Jared Diamond's Third Chimpanzee and Germs,Guns, and Steel). This transition was marked by development of more complex form of complexity called a "society" which is a unique organization of artifact trading between non-genetic related families (of the same species). All other complex species(ants, bees, large herbivores, other primates, etc) do not exhibit this level of material complexity. This organizational structure forms the basis of a major level of material complexity. This level of complexity(hereby called Metaman) arose (... ok I will use the hackneyed word *emerged*)from the previous level of Hypersea. As Metaman(mankind) evolved the spoken word became a factor of the spread of memes. Other transitions as mankind evolved (written language, the diversity of tools (Bronze age, Iron age)) continued the development of culture and memes. Memes replicate in the human mind and cultural artifacts independent(relatively) from the families (replicated by nuturing sex-based genetics). The selection process is different for eucaryotic genes versus cultural memes. However, the selection processes at each level of complexity have commonalities in process and function.
Now each level of complexity has a form of functional organization: "genes" represent two levels of major complexity in biology (cells - procaryotes and organisms - multi-celled eucaryotes), memes are human-brain and human artifacts, society-based, wemes are web-based. At others levels you have penes (particle based organization -atoms, Einstein-Bose condensate), chemes (molecular based organization - ionic crystals, polymers, laminarliquids), fenes (family-based organization - herds, schools, tribes), etc.But the question is what is the relationship between these organizational entities. Hence the notion of a xeme. (a neologism too.)
What are the categories of xemes? Because a xeme is functionalcomplex, there are functional levels of xemes. There are three basic functional categories for a xeme.
The most complex xeme is the *symbol* xeme. The symbol xeme is a symbotrophic entity S with an associated class of material entities s nasrealizations. A symbotrophic entity S is composed of functional xemesthat combine to form a functional entity. It is assumed that at least two material ontogenies (and if two, they are "opposite") must be part of the symbotrophic si material entity. S's "function" is to exist in and therefore be part of a compositionof a massive dissipative/replicative structure (a macrosystem) M. If there exists a more "complex" massive dissipative/replicative structure within the M, then the function of the xeme S can be more complex.
The functional xemes FIX(i,S, M), which functionally compose the symbol xeme are *iconic* xemes which correspond to the heterotrophic entities of M.
Iconic xemes FIX(i,S,M) are composed of *object* xemes FOX(i,j,S,
M) which correspond to a class of material autotrophic
entities, which compose the macrosystem M.
The universe is materially composed of macrosystems that are composed
by microsystems.The interaction
between the two defines our universe. Macrosystemsand microsystems
are material systems (physically realized entities). But to
understand the relationships, one must both describe and characterizedthese
material systems based on functional (process) and structural (stable)models
in combination. At major levels of material complexity,
xemes, functional entities, correspondto microsystems, material entities.
Xemepheres, contextual functional entitiescorrespond to macrosystems,
material entities.
Xemes (1) - Replicatiable Functional components
Xemeplexes - A Functional component with standard functional
subcomponents.
Xemespheres - Massive Dissipative/Replicative Structures - Functionaland
material contexts
Level 0 Xemes
Metric Xemes
Time0
"Material" Xemes
Null (Total Order0)
Self (Total Order1)
Unity (Total Randomness0)
"Functional" Xemes
Replication0
Level 0 Xemepheres
Multiverse
Universe
Level 1 Xemes
Metric Xemes
Time1
Material Xemes
Chaos : Multiverse
Order : Multiverse
Edge-of-Chaos(Edge-of-Order) : Universe
Process Xemes
Dissipation0 (Replication0 of Randomness)
Replication1 (Replication0 of Order)
Composition0 (Replication0 of Replication0)
Level 1 Xemespheres
Multiverse
Universe Big Bang
Universe
Universe Big Poof
Level 2 Xemes
Metric Xemes
Time2
Material Xemes
MassEnergy
Space
Edge-of-Chaos(Edge-of-Order): Energy-Mass-Space/Time2
Process Xemes
Dissipation1
Dissipation0 of Composition0(Dissipationof
(Replication0 of Replication0))
Replication2
Replication of Composition0(Replicationof
(Replication0 of Replication0))
Composition1
Composition0 of Composition0(Compositionof
(Replication0 of Replication0))
Level 2 Xemespheres
Multiverse
Universe Big Bang
Universe
Universe Big Poof
Xemes - Replicatiable Functional components
Xemeplexes - A Functional component with standard functional
subcomponents.
Xspheres - Massive Dissipative/Replicative Structures - Functionaland
material contexts
Examples:
Space dissipators (Order)
Energy dissipators (Chaos)
Structure (time) dissipators (Edge-of-chaos)
Space dissipators: Background radiation (big bang neutrinos)
Space Socialism (order)
Energy Socialism (chaos)
Space Capitalism (chaos)
Energy Capitalism (order)
Symbotrophism
Heterotrophism
Predation (Mobile meta-Heterotrophism)
Autotrophism
Economic Selection (Culturalplex selection)
Cooperators
Utilitarians
Memes - Society based informational organization
ideas, books, songs, tools, words
Autotrophs :Signs, Signals, Tools
Heterotrophs Words
Symbotrophs: Books
Job Selection (Behavior selection)
Autotrophs (ants ) Energy dissipators
Heterotrophs (herd animals) Space dissipators
Symbotrophs (mankind) Structure dissipators
Fenes - Family based informational organization
children, organisms, slaves (husbandry), parasites
Sexual Selection (organism selection)
Autotrophs (plantae, fungi ) Energy dissipators
Heterotrophs (Animalia) Space dissipators
Symbotrophs (social species) Structure dissipators
Venes - Species based informational organization
species viruses, bacteriophages, gametes
"Allele Group" Selection
Autotrophs (archeabacteria)
Heterotrophs (cyanobacteria)
Symbotrophs (eubacteria, eucaryotes)
Genes - Life (protein) based informational organization
prions, genes (RNA, DNA) ,lipids,
Molecular Selection
Atemes - Atomic based informational organization
isotopes, molecular weight