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Re: A sigh of disappointment...
E.J. Ford CFS (ford@HAL.FMHI.USF.EDU)
Tue, 15 Feb 1994 08:24:04 -0500
Seeker1's comments about the real topic for discussion with regard to
memetics begs a question. In his post, he claims that the real topic for
discussion with regard to the self-replicating ideas is not the validity
of the concept but whether or not it leads to mechanistic determinism.
I am not sure how to respond to this except to say that many
comprehensive theories of human behavior are reductionist and
deterministic. As a result, most discussions of theoretical models avoid
this topic and address the specifics of the theory at hand. Seeker1
should have expected that people would attack the validity of the
concepts underlying his proposition prior to commenting on the
determinism of memetics.
Needless to say, if one argues that memetics are not a valid concept, it
is pointless to debate their significance as deterministicmechanisms
which restrict behavior.
EJ Ford
Anthro-Lad
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