I'm currently reading a book.
Meme Machine by Susan Blackmore.
She defines, defends and expands on the original concept of meme's as presented by Dawkins. In fact dawkins wrote the preface.
It's fascinating....and scary......and explains EVERYTHING.
Basicilly it boils down to this. After all the interesting stellar evolution and stuff things settled down enough for chemistry to start cooking up organics. Eventualy a replicator appeared.
Call this replicator a gene.
Thence all of biology.
For some silly strange reason (as yet unknow although there are interesting speculations...my favorite being heat radiator for cursorial hunters) one of the species of biologicals developed a HUGE brain.
This humongous brain was analogous to the "primal ooze" for meme's....in other words a second replicator developed in conditions which favored it's doing so.....the human brain.
This replicator, the meme,...is entirely mental...an information virus so to speak.
And that's all there is too it.
No god's ...no aliens...no grand design. Just replicators trying to replicate. Like germs in a swamp. (turn on a TV..or take a walk in a mall....see what I mean?....meme's everywhere...trying to get into your mind and breeeeeeeedd)
Humans have two kinds of replicators working on them unlike every other biological known. Consequently this explains why humanity is so ascendent over everything else. I beleive the word factorial is interesting in this regard.
A key concept to keep in mind is that meme's could care less (metaphorically
speaking of course.....because meme's ...like genes....dont care at all)......about what's good for gene's. All meme's are "trying" to do is replicate. That's what replicators do. That's All they do.
Hence relegion......looney tunes......and soap operas.....mental viruses trying to infect and breed.
EvMick
Ontario Calif.