RE: virus: Does a dog have meme-nature?
Con Knudtson (knudtsoc@cybersurf.net)
Fri, 7 Jun 1996 17:18:53 MST
In an attempt (perhaps frivolous) to flesh out the topic, I quote
Kerry Black's POSTMODERNISM AS AN ART HISTORICAL PERIOD
STYLE:
"It is in raising raising evolution above gross physical
mechanics that humans have risen to dominate the other animals.
"What is meant here by "other animals" are simply the
hard-working creatures of a predominately physical genius, with some
limited (if often startling) informational capabilities. Their great
strength in physicality tends to relative grossness, supplemented by
more subtle informational capacities; while, by contrast, the human
animal has become an essentially informational operator, aided and
abetted in its radical/subtle mentality by a wide range of often
impressive (if secondary) gross physical adaptations and gifts. The
human animal is essentially a mind with a physical support system,
while the "other animals" are essentially physical systems with
limited mental support."
I admit this mostly reiterates points already made, but it also
points out the relative, rather than absolute, difference between man
and dog: while dogs have higher brain functions, these are applied
directly to the environment- eg. Master is acting lively, so this is
a good time to nag him for a walk.
What is here called a "meme", does in fact exist to some extent
to a dog. The cross-correllation of facts at his disposal are
limited to physical experience, so a meme composed strictly of these
may exist; however a 'composite meme' is lost to a dog, since he can
receive no communication of conceptual/abstract information, so is
limited to those that he forms in his own mind.
Since dogs cannot share theories, "Is there a God?" cannot form a
canine meme. Dogs can reason, remember, dream and perhaps even imagine, but
there is no meme as such among dogs.