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Phenotypic Effect
A meme is a catchy idea that circulates in a culture. Richard Dawkins coins the word “meme” by adapting it from the Greek word mimeme, which means “imitate.” He thinks memes jump from brain to brain, by being copied into different people’s minds. For example, a scientist might learn about an idea from a paper. If the scientist likes the idea, they’ll talk about it in their lectures, and their students will learn about the idea as well. The scientist will likely also talk about the idea with their peers, and maybe mention it in their papers, meaning more people will learn about the idea and store a “copy” of the idea in their brains. According to Dawkins, a meme is a replicator. Since each brain has a limited capacity for memory, memes essentially compete to be remembered, in a new form of evolution: cultural evolution. Some examples of memes include the idea of God, a catchy tune or jingle, a memorable image, or—importantly—the idea of altruism. Dawkins argues that altruism doesn’t exist in nature, so it must be an idea that was invented at some point, and then spread in human culture.
Meme Quotes in The Selfish Gene
The The Selfish Gene quotes below are all either spoken by Meme or refer to Meme. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 11
Quotes
I think that a new kind of replicator has recently emerged on this very planet. It is starting us in the face. It is still in its infancy, still drifting clumsily about in its primeval soup, but already it is achieving evolutionary change at a rate that leaves the old gene panting far behind. The new soup is the soup of human culture. We need a name for the new replicator, a noun that conveys the idea of a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation. “Mimeme” comes from a suitable Greek root, but I want a monosyllable that sounds a bit like “gene.” I hope my classicist friends will forgive me if I abbreviate mimeme to meme.
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We have the power to defy the selfish genes of our birth and, if necessary the selfish memes of our indoctrination. We can even discuss ways of deliberately cultivating and nurturing pure, disinterested altruism—something that has no place in nature, something that has never existed before in the whole history of the world. We are built as gene machines and cultured as meme machines, but we have the power to turn against our creators. We, alone on earth, can rebel against the tyranny of the selfish replicators.
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Meme Term Timeline in The Selfish Gene
The timeline below shows where the term Meme appears in The Selfish Gene. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 11: Memes: The New Replicators
...something that can rapidly imitate itself. Dawkins decides to call this “unit of imitation” a meme (adapted from the Greek mimeme Examples of memes include catchy tunes, phrases, images, fashions, and...
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...themselves in the gene pool by hopping from body to body via eggs and sperm. Memes propagate themselves in the meme pool by hopping from brain to brain, by a process...
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Another meme that’s very successful is the “God” meme. It’s a very old idea that has stayed...
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Some theorists want to know why the “God” meme has psychological appeal, and whether there’s a genetic reason underlying it, but Dawkins thinks that’s...
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Memes, like genes, have varying success in the overall pool. Some memes have “brilliant” short-term success,...
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Dawkins wonders if memes compete for survival in the way that genes do—he thinks they do. He asks the...
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Memes survive for various reasons. Fear makes ideas stick, for example, which is why religion has...
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Another thing that makes memes different from genes is that human brains have the capacity for conscious foresight. Genes don’t—they...
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