The meme machine
(Book)
Author:
Published:
New York : Oxford University Press, 1999.
Format:
Book
Physical Desc:
xx, 264 pages ; 24 cm.
Status:
Description
What is a meme? First coined by Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene, a meme is any idea, behavior, or skill that can be transferred from one person to another by imitation: stories, fashions, inventions, recipes, songs, ways of plowing a field or throwing a baseball or making a sculpture. The meme is also one of the most important--and controversial--concepts to emerge since The Origin of Species appeared nearly 150 years ago.
In The Meme Machine Susan Blackmore boldly asserts: "Just as the design of our bodies can be understood only in terms of natural selection, so the design of our minds can be understood only in terms of memetic selection." Indeed, Blackmore shows that once our distant ancestors acquired the crucial ability to imitate, a second kind of natural selection began, a survival of the fittest amongst competing ideas and behaviors. Ideas and behaviors that proved most adaptive--making tools, for example, or using language--survived and flourished, replicating themselves in as many minds as possible. These memes then passed themselves on from generation to generation by helping to ensure that the genes of those who acquired them also survived and reproduced. Applying this theory to many aspects of human life, Blackmore offers brilliant explanations for why we live in cities, why we talk so much, why we can't stop thinking, why we behave altruistically, how we choose our mates, and much more.
With controversial implications for our religious beliefs, our free will, our very sense of "self," The Meme Machine offers a provocative theory everyone will soon be talking about.
In The Meme Machine Susan Blackmore boldly asserts: "Just as the design of our bodies can be understood only in terms of natural selection, so the design of our minds can be understood only in terms of memetic selection." Indeed, Blackmore shows that once our distant ancestors acquired the crucial ability to imitate, a second kind of natural selection began, a survival of the fittest amongst competing ideas and behaviors. Ideas and behaviors that proved most adaptive--making tools, for example, or using language--survived and flourished, replicating themselves in as many minds as possible. These memes then passed themselves on from generation to generation by helping to ensure that the genes of those who acquired them also survived and reproduced. Applying this theory to many aspects of human life, Blackmore offers brilliant explanations for why we live in cities, why we talk so much, why we can't stop thinking, why we behave altruistically, how we choose our mates, and much more.
With controversial implications for our religious beliefs, our free will, our very sense of "self," The Meme Machine offers a provocative theory everyone will soon be talking about.
Copies
Location
Call Number
Status
Last Check-In
Lac Courte Oreilles Adult Nonfiction
304.5 BLA
Due Feb 11, 2025
More Details
Language:
English
ISBN:
0198503652
Notes
General Note
Nonfiction.
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references.
Citations
APA Citation (style guide)
Blackmore, S. J. (1999). The meme machine. New York, Oxford University Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Blackmore, Susan J., 1951-. 1999. The Meme Machine. New York, Oxford University Press.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Blackmore, Susan J., 1951-, The Meme Machine. New York, Oxford University Press, 1999.
MLA Citation (style guide)Blackmore, Susan J. The Meme Machine. New York, Oxford University Press, 1999.
Note! Citation formats are based on standards as of July 2022. Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy.
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Grouped Work ID:
33414335-e966-8828-969e-35643b7e7a34
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Record Information
Last Sierra Extract Time | Dec 23, 2024 08:19:33 AM |
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Last File Modification Time | Dec 23, 2024 08:20:02 AM |
Last Grouped Work Modification Time | Dec 23, 2024 08:19:37 AM |
MARC Record
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100 | 1 | |a Blackmore, Susan J., |d 1951- |e author. | |
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264 | 1 | |a New York : |b Oxford University Press, |c 1999. | |
300 | |a xx, 264 pages ; |c 24 cm. | ||
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504 | |a Includes bibliographical references. | ||
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650 | 0 | |a Sociobiology. | |
650 | 0 | |a Social psychology. | |
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