Spring 2013 Philosophy of Culture Practice Exam Questions
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ABC
Meme theory is the idea that culture has a life of its own. Culture develops from a collection of memes that advance on their own. Memes infect you like a virus, or that is the analogy used anyways. A meme is an idea that develops and then turns beneficial somehow, which is then how it continues in our society. Like the example of music, it may have started from just a nervous tick. A guy taps a log, and then it becomes infectious and mnay people start doing it. Then one day people start to realize that it is pleasurable to make these noises, then fast forward and being good at music has now become something that will help you attract a mate. Potential criticisms of the meme theory are that it doesn't allow for the idea of us developing our own culture, it's for the most part intentional.
(No Name)
A meme is the information we receive, the "how to" in a question. They pass down from each generation by imitating information by practice. Although they are not like genes that are passed down perfectly to the next generation. Instead the agent may choose certain parts of the meme to keep. This meme theory accounts for cultural ideas by passing down different cultural aspects to the next generation. Memes also focus on one self by applying the question "qui bono" who benefits?
Harry Potter
The idea of memes is centered around the theory that rather than human genetic traits being selected for, causing evolution over time, that ideas and concepts and abstract cultural phenomenons are selected for, causing evolution over time. Like genetic traits, certain "memes" will last longer, develop, and flourish, while others will fade away from the culture. The analogy to genetics implies that certain "memes" help us as a species more than others do, like genes, and those are the memes that "survive" or last over time in human culture.
An example of a "meme" might be Evolutionist theory, the idea of global warming, the popularity of a particular phrase such as "YOLO", or even a fashion trend like North Face jackets. These are all cultural ideas and things that are spread among societies - some of them catching fire and lasting for years and being taken for scientific truths (like genes that promote fitness and stick around), while others do not endure as strongly, like the fashion trend that is "in" one season and "out" the next.
One criticism of this "meme" theory is that its analogy to genetics and fitness is not equal enough. There are many things about genetics that can't be explained by meme theory, such as gene mutations.
