Much of the study of

meme A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...

s focuses on groups of memes called meme complexes, or memeplexes. Like the

gene complex In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

es found in biology, memeplexes are groups of memes that are often found present in the same individual. Applying the theory of

Universal Darwinism Universal Darwinism, also known as generalized Darwinism, universal selection theory, or Darwinian metaphysics, is a variety of approaches that extend the theory of Darwinism beyond its original domain of biological evolution on Earth. Universal ...

, memeplexes exist because memes copy themselves more successfully when they are "teamed up". Examples include: ; Belief Systems and Ideologies::Religions, philosophies, political alignments, worldviews. ; Organizations and Groups::Churches, businesses, political parties, clubs. ; Behavioral Patterns::Musical practices,

ceremonies A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secular) ...

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

s, festivities, hunting techniques, sports. Compared to inherited gene complexes, memeplexes have comparatively less

pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and e ...

to benefit the individuals expressing them in order to replicate. Because memes and memeplexes replicate virally (i.e., by

horizontal transmission Horizontal transmission is the transmission of organisms between biotic and/or abiotic members of an ecosystem that are not in a parent-progeny relationship. This concept has been generalized to include transmissions of infectious agents, symbiont ...

), they are not entirely dependent on the success of their hosts in order to succeed. Memes and memeplexes do not have to be useful or true, physically or mathematically, to replicate. For example,

geocentrism In astronomy, the geocentric model (also known as geocentrism, often exemplified specifically by the Ptolemaic system) is a superseded description of the Universe with Earth at the center. Under most geocentric models, the Sun, Moon, stars, and ...

was at one point an extremely successful idea (in terms of widespread acceptance), but is today not considered to be accurate, having been almost entirely replaced with more modern theories. Philosopher Daniel C. Dennett, evolutionary biologist

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ath ...

, and consciousness researcher

Susan Blackmore Susan Jane Blackmore (born 29 July 1951) is a British writer, lecturer, sceptic, broadcaster, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Plymouth. Her fields of research include memetics, parapsychology, consciousness, and she is best known fo ...

(author of ''

The Meme Machine ''The Meme Machine'' is a popular science book by Susan Blackmore on the subject of memes. Blackmore attempts to constitute memetics as a science by discussing its empirical and analytic potential, as well as some important problems with memeti ...

'') are proponents of

memetics Memetics is a study of information and culture. While memetics originated as an analogy with Darwinian evolution, digital communication, media, and sociology scholars have also adopted the term "memetics" to describe an established empirical study ...

References

Susan Blackmore, "Meme, Myself And I"

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080822192817/http://richarddawkins.net/article%2C3001%2CQampA-with-Richard-Dawkins-after-lecture-at-UC-Berkeley%2CRichardDawkinsnet Richard Dawkins, question and answer session at the University of California at Berkeley, March 8, 2008] Philosophy of mind {{philosophy-stub de:Memplex

See also

References