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1、In:RobertAunger(ed9/5/069:12PMIn:RobertAunger(ed.)DarwinizingCulture:TheStatusofMemeticsasaScience.OxfordUniversityPress,163-173.DanSperberAnobjectiontothememeticapproachtocultureMemeticsisonepossibleevolutionaryapproachtothestudyofculture.BoydandRicherson
2、'smodels(1985,Boydthisvolume),ormyepidemiologyofrepresentations(1985,1996),areamongotherpossibleevolutionaryapproachesinspiredinvariouswaysbyDarwin.Memeticshowever,is,byitsverysimplicity,particularlyattractive.Thememeticapproachisbasedontheclaimthatculture
3、ismadeofmemes.IfonetakesthenotionofamemeinthestrongsenseintendedbyRichardDawkins(1976,1982),thisisindeedaninterestingandchallengingclaim.Ontheotherhand,ifoneweretodefine"meme",asdoestheOxfordEnglishDictionary,as"anelementofculturethatmaybeconsideredtobepas
4、sedonbynon-geneticmeans,"thentheclaimthatcultureismadeofmemeswouldbeamererewordingofamostcommonidea:anthropologistshavealwaysconsideredcultureasthatwhichistransmittedinahumangroupbynon-geneticmeans.RichardDawkinsdefines"memes"asculturalreplicatorspropagate
5、dthroughimitation,undergoingaprocessofselection,andstandingtobeselectednotbecausetheybenefittheirhumancarriers,butbecauseoftheybenefitthemselves.Arenon-biologicalreplicatorssuchasmemestheoreticallypossible?Yes,surely.Theveryideaofnon-biologicalreplicators,
6、andtheargumentthattheDarwinianmodelofselectionisnotlimitedtothestrictlybiologicalarealready,bythemselves,oftheoreticalinterest.Thiswouldbesoevenif,actually,therewerenomemes.Anyhow,thereareclearcasesofactualmemes,thoughmuchfewerthanisoftenthought.Chain-lett
7、ers,forinstance,fitthedefinition.Theverycontentoftheseletters,withthreatstothosewhoignorethemandpromisestothosewhocopyandsendthem,contributestotheirbeingcopiedandsentagainandagain.Chain-lettersdon'tbenefitthepeoplewhocopythem,theybenefittheirownpropagation
8、.Moreover,somechain-lettersaredoingbetterthanothersbecauseofthegreatereffectivenessoftheircontentincausingreplication.Oncethegeneralideaofamemeisunderstood-andespeciallyifitunderstoodfairlyloosely-,itisalltoo
