Genes and the biosphere, Memes and the memosphere

Memes are units of culture that behave like genes. That is according to philosopher Daniel Dennett and Sue Blackmore they follow the same three step evolutionary algorithm. Firstly, both genes and memes replicate. Secondly, during copying errors or modifications may occur. Lastly, they are selected. When these three general processes occur the result is evolution.

To carry these analogy further, genes code for characteristics that help the indiviual survive in their natural environment. We could call the environment in which genes carried by species struggle for existence their substrate. The substrate of species is the ecosystem or on a larger scale the biosphere.

Of interest particular interest is the way ecosystems recovery after disturbance. In this case the ecosystem will systematically recover. Species that colonize the vacant site must pass through a series of abiotic and biotic filters. Abiotic filters are those of climate, mineral composition of soils, slope, salinty and so on. Biotic factors are the presence of other species.

But what then is the substrate in which memes compete? It is the human mind. Let us look at this for a moment. For an idea or meme to colonize a person's mind it must also pass through a series of filters. Firstly, there are the hardwired rules that determine genetically how we are predisposed to behave and make choices. E.O.Wilson has termed these 'epigenetic rules'. Secondly, the new idea may do a number of things to establish itself. It could dislodge an existing idea by proving itself better in some respect; that is, outcompete an existing idea. It may also act as an add-on or an accessory, or it may simply colonize vacant ground.

With the above description there appears to be the possibility of forming an analogy between the animal and plant communities in an ecosystem and memes in the human mind. This could be extended where the full collection of ecosystem comprises the biosphere, so to the full aggregation of human minds would represent the 'memosphere'.

To summarize this idea, it appears that not only are we able create simulations of the world through consciousness, our minds seem act like scaled down models of the natural ecosystems in which they evolved. That is, our minds are reflections of the fundamental evolutionary processes occrring in Nature. The task now at hand would be to see how far we could take this metaphor and what it could teach us about the way the mind works.