Essence will Perdure

So genes are the selfish things inside our DNA that make us how we are anatomically. That must be clear by now.

Now memes. What are they exactly?

I’d like to define it as an idea, a cultural idea to be more precise. This memes are not transmitted by sexual reproduction, as genes, but by exchange of information, being written, talked, and/or seen. Everything that you have been taught in school, at home or in your religious institution, is a meme.

Dawkins says, “Our genes may be immortal but the collection of genes that is any one of us is bound to crumble away.” (pg.199) Meaning that even when our genes are constantly trying to move on from generation to generation, the collection of genes will only last one generation. On the other hand, memes, if able to contribute in a big way to the world’s culture, are bound to last much longer than the collection of genes.

This chapter made me go back to my philosophy class where we read Sigmund Freud’s, Civilizations and its Discontents. I found an interesting connection between Freud and Dawkins that helped me understand both texts better. 

Freud, talks about biology and archeology giving an example of all the changes that Rome has gone through. The monuments and constructions are no longer present on their original form,  (the “collection of genes”). Instead, there are reconstructions of reconstructions of the original monument. These reconstructions try to imitate the original constructions demonstrating that the essence, or idea of the original construction (the meme) is present, even when many centuries have gone by and the interpretations have changed and grown apart from the original.

Genes have to face competition in order to survive right? Memes do too. However, now a days memes don’t only have to compete with each other but with the commodities in the external world. The TV, radio, books, are all now competing with the memes. Therefore, in order for a meme to transcend into future generations it must, first, be strong enough to win the attention of the brain winning over its rival memes and commodities, and second be good enough to be passed on not only by one person, but by many people to other brains.