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Re: memes -Reply
richley crapo (RCRAPO@WPO.HASS.USU.EDU)
Fri, 9 Dec 1994 15:52:08 -0700
I concur wholeheartedly with Cronk's comments on
Dawkin's definition of memes. An overemphasis
on adaptation creates a blindspot for
epiphenomena and even dysfunctionality in the
real world, whether biological or cultural
phenomena are under consideration. This is one
of the main reasons for my criticisms of (as it
turned out) Daly and Wilson's polemical argument
for sociobiology as the only scientifically valid
approach. Regardless of the explanatory utility of
natural selection, a slavish adherance to
adaptation as a teleological principle has more in
common with religion than science, but also
because it distorts our perception of reality. Not
everything that exists is functional and adaptive.
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