Hi John S, (01)
So you think the god meme is an inevitable human expression, substantially
achieved without external stimuli. Aren't you therefore saying the
god-concept is NOT a meme at all, because no-thing is being transmitted
virally, an essential characteristic of a meme? You also mention "many
centuries of literature" on this subject - stimuli I'd think quite central
to its transmission, literature written & staged by.... elites. (02)
Anyway, the importance of transmission mechanisms underwhelm me this momemnt
now that I've gotten to the point of formulating that
a) a "meme" is related to an "idea"
b) an (oxford) idea has (required) premises and (optional) consequences
c) a meme, virally adopted, is a premise of an idea (had by someone else) (03)
I prefer oxford not heritage idea because to me an idea has "importance", it
has heft, it has consequences. A thought without consequences just does not
seem like much of an idea to me. The Heritage Idea does not encompass
consequences; the Oxford Idea seems to. (04)
-jmc (05)
>-----Original Message-----
>From: ontolog-forum-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>[mailto:ontolog-forum-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of John F Sowa
>Sent: Monday, April 15, 2013 2:29 PM
>To: ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: Re: [ontolog-forum] Dennett on the Darwinism of Memes
>
>
>JMcC
>> Now on to the god meme. How radioactive.
>> You state that the god meme is the "popular
>> conception of the god(s). That IS about whether higher entities exist
>> and about their features" ... ok let's run with that. Let's
>think about
>> how this meme came about.
>
>The so-called "god meme" is not innate, but it arises in every
>(or nearly every) human society by a very simple mechanism.
>
>> Did individual persons develop this belief on their own, assigning
>> reality to something they could neither see nor touch? If yes,
>> then I'd agree that a meme is an emergent consensus of sorts.
>> Or was it something they were TOLD by intellectuals seeking to
>> create a caste of wizards, medicine-men, and priests?
>
>Option #1 is the correct answer, but the beliefs are based on very
>tangible, but dimly remembered phenomena and experiences:
>
> 1. Every child is born as a helpless infant into a family with
> very powerful god and goddess figures: protectors, care givers,
> law givers, and law enforcers who deliver swift and sure
>penalties.
>
> 2. Some families have only one or two children, but most people are
> born into larger families -- for simple statistical reasons.
>
> 3. Each child identifies with the much weaker siblings close to his
> or her age, who are all dependent on and governed by the older
> wiser, wealthier, and much more powerful god(s) & goddess(es).
>
> 4. The pair of all powerful figures turn out to be good old mom
> & pop, whom the child reveres, but the teenager rebels against.
>
> 5. But even as an adult, people have a nostalgia for a simpler and
> more secure "golden age" when the all-knowing, all-powerful god
> & goddess provided the child with all good things.
>
>There is a huge literature about mythologies around the world, and
>their psychological, psychoanalytic, sociological, literary, and
>linguistic implications.
>
>If Dawkins seriously wanted to study the "god meme", he should have
>done his homework before popping off with some half-baked opinions.
>
>For anybody who wants to study the god meme, my recommendation is to
>start with gods such as Zeus or Wotan and goddesses such as Demeter
>or Venus. Very few people worship them today, but they have influenced
>many centuries of literature -- and very similar themes and plots occur
>in modern literature and movies.
>
>It's possible to formulate and discuss hypotheses about them
>with more insight and less heated polemics.
>
>John
>
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