How can genes and memes explain human behavior and social change?

Dawkins argues that human behavior is driven by the strategies of genes, and he explains that, like genes, culture is replicated in units called memes. Memes spread from one brain to another through imitation, an important concept for understanding cultural evolution and social behavior. Blackmore describes this as a parasite-host model, analyzing the interplay between meme propagation and human behavior.

 

Dawkins argues that humans are merely carriers of genes, explaining that competition, cooperation, and sacrifice among human individuals are strategies of genes to spread more copies of themselves. His argument emphasizes the idea that human behavior ultimately functions as a tool for genetic survival. Furthermore, Dawkins suggests that culture, like gene transmission, replicates itself in specific units of information, which he calls “memes.
According to Dawkins, memes are the basic units of replication associated with culture, as distinct from genes. Ideas like the afterlife, fashion, etc. are examples of memes that are replicated from one human being to another. Similar to how genes are spread from one body to another through sperm or eggs, memes are spread from one brain to another through a process of imitation. Blackmore describes this as a parasite-host model. Just as a virus parasitizes on a host and replicates to expand its presence and infect nearby hosts, memes need humans as hosts for their replication strategy to spread more memes. In this sense, genes and memes function as both replicators and actors, given the behavioral aspect of spreading more copies of themselves. This is in contrast to the view that human individuals are not agents.
When we say that the transmission of memes occurs through imitation, Blackmore distinguishes imitation from “contagion,” “individual learning,” and “non-mimetic social learning. When you see someone yawning, you yawn in unison. This contagion is not imitation because it is an innate behavior that can be performed without being taught. Personal learning is when an individual develops a particular response or behavior through interaction with the environment, but it doesn’t involve observation, so it’s not imitation. Non-imitative social learning is when a response to a given stimulus is appropriately rewarded and the stimulus is reinforced. In nonimitative social learning, a behavior is learned through observation of another individual, but the behavior itself is not the object of learning. It is not imitation because the learning occurs in an environment where the response to a stimulus is appropriately rewarded.
Some people are skeptical about the existence or function of memes, pointing out that they are not physical entities, so it’s difficult to establish a concrete unit, and the principle of replication is unclear. To counter this, proponents of meme theory try to explain memes from a neuroscience perspective. The idea is that memes are transmitted from brain to brain by imitation, so certain bundles of nerve cells in the human brain are connected to form memes. From this perspective, we can say that the ability to imitate triggered memes, and memes, in turn, serve to develop the ability to imitate.
Meme theory, which attempts to explain cultural transmission in terms of memes, is a useful tool for explaining how ideas, cultures, etc. are transmitted and spread. These theories can contribute to understanding the complex interplay of cultural evolution and social behavior, not just the spread of information. For example, they can help explain how certain religious beliefs or political ideologies spread and transform rapidly, or how fads in fashion or technology affect society at large.
Furthermore, meme theory is useful for analyzing many aspects of modern society, including education and learning, media and advertising, and the internet meme phenomenon. In the digital age, memes are spreading faster and more widely over the internet, creating a new form of cultural phenomenon. On social media platforms, millions of people can share and modify a particular meme in a short period of time, which has a huge impact on social trends and public opinion.
The spread of these memes often leads to positive change, but sometimes it can also have a negative impact. For example, when misinformation or hate speech is spread in the form of memes, it can cause social conflict or reinforce prejudice against certain groups. Therefore, it’s important to understand the impact of memes and develop appropriate responses to them.
In conclusion, Dawkins’ meme theory provides important insights into understanding cultural evolution and the complexity of human behavior. If genes are the basic unit of biological evolution, then memes are the basic unit of cultural evolution, a concept that is useful for explaining many aspects of human society. In the future, meme theory will continue to evolve through active research and discussion in various academic fields, and its applications are expected to become more widespread.