Memes and Genes: An Introduction

Memes and genes are both active germ-line replicators, or optimons, that compete with alternative forms and undergo natural selection. Both entities spread through the population in similar ways, sometimes remaining stable and sometimes undergoing mutation. Memes and (human) genes are both the replicators at the basis of a type of evolution, and both influence their shared vehicle - a human being. Genes are replicators that build a vehicle to be passed on to the next generation; memes are replicators that use the mind created by genes' vehicles as a vehicle of their own.

Memes and Genes in Concert

Memes and genes can often act in concert, just as multiple memes or multiple genes can act in concert. They can even form "symbiotic" relationships through mutual benefit to mutual advantage. Many memes receive a reproductive boost from genes predisposing humans to specific adaptive behaviors; conversely, genes benefit from memes that promote those same adaptive behaviors because the behaviors are reinforced, giving the genes for them a reproductive advantage.

Take, for example, the meme Children are a blessing from God. This is a fairly common religious meme, now particularly noticeable as part of Catholic doctrine. This meme is a clear psychological incentive for couples to have large families, even when negative consequences in the realms of health or economics loom large. Obviously, parents will tend to communicate their meme (usually as part of the larger meme set of religion) to their children, who will in turn eventually communicate it to their children, etc. The parents' genes obviously derive great benefit from this meme, which encourages the couple to have large numbers of children even when it is not necessarily a good time to do so. Thus the parents' genes and memes will continue in many different vehicles.

This simple example could easily become more complex. Suppose that having large families was considered a necessity - this would certainly increase the birth rate still further. Suppose it was also part of the meme set that people with small families, or people that deliberately choose not to have children, are in some sort of danger - perhaps of condemnation. Then the parents would try to add lateral to vertical transmission of their meme - they would try to convince neighbors and friends of the necessity of having large families. Friends and neighbors who adopted the memes would then transmit them to their many children, thereby benefiting their genes.

Memetic and Genetic Coevolution

Extrapolating from these conclusions, it can be seen that memes and genes could potentially coevolve. If a meme arose that promoted high rates of reproduction, it would clearly benefit the genes of those who adopted it. If a particular gene predisposed people to adopting the meme, its frequency too would increase. As the gene's frequency rose, the meme's frequency is likely to rise as well. If the meme (and/or the gene) is in any way beneficial to survival, it will tend to be selected for, and it could eventually come to dominate the meme pool.

In addition, if the gene predisposed people to adopting a very specific, narrow range of memes, it could cause evolution in the meme itself. Only certain mutations of the meme would be adopted with very high frequency because of the gene's affinity for these versions. These would then spread through the population. Similarly, if the meme was adopted by individuals with variations in the gene, those genes that predisposed their bodies the most to adopting the meme would benefit most from the meme's salutary effects.

Memes and Genes in Opposition

Memes and genes can also act in opposition to each other, with a body's genes "desiring" one thing and the mind's memes "desiring" another. The example of clerical celibacy is commonly cited as an example of this - the man who becomes celibate by choice is a genetic and evolutionary dead end, and obviously this decision is against the "will" of his genes. However, it is his memes that caused him to make that decision - the particular structure of his meme set is such that he will spread his memes much more effectively by preaching to others (horizontal transmission) than he will by communicating them to his children (vertical transmission).

Another common example of this phenomenon is suicide for a cause, for example, a suicide bombing. This is clearly not beneficial to the bomber's genes, but may be highly effective in communicating his memes. The bomber may believe that he will inspire others to take up his cause by his sacrifice, and the blow is almost universally softened by promises (memes) of heaven or paradise after death, which also have a tendency to spread following his suicide.

A third example of memes and genes in opposition comes not from these extreme cases, but from the everyday world. Today it is very common for men and women to delay marriage and childbearing - or forgo them altogether - for the sake of a promising and fulfilling career. From a gene's point of view, this is a terrible idea - few to none of the genes in a person adhering to this meme will be passed along to subsequent generations. However, from the point of view of the "career meme", their decision is an excellent one which will effectively communicate this and other associated, mutually helpful memes.

Meme Epidemiology and Social Context

Genes do not work in isolation; rather, they work in an environment teeming with other genes, some of which are essential to each other's proper function. For example, a gene for an enzyme will not do any good or confer any selective advantage if its associated promoter gene is nonfunctional. Even more obviously, a gene for a certain trait - say, dark eyes - would be useless in bacterium that does not have eyes, or in an octopus with eyes very different from our own, or even in a human that lacks the proper machinery to make eyes. More interestingly, what could today be identified as a gene conferring unusual ability to pitch in baseball could have appeared, in the context of a primitive nomadic existence, as a gene for unusual ability to throw rocks at predators. In short, genes and their proper expressions are highly contextual. Memes are no different in this respect.

Memes too are dependent on the context, both for their expression and their spread. In ancient Greek times, there was no fear of flying meme, because airplanes didn't exist. At the same time, it was possible but unlikely for a meme to exist that said, women and men are equals. In the same vein, a common Greek meme was, Zeus is the king of the gods, but very few people believe this today.

Memes may be even more subtly contextual. In ancient times the Earth was known to be round, and its diameter was even calculated with remarkable exactness; however, in medieval times this meme was lost, and people believed the Earth was flat. In ancient times, anyone who thought the Earth was flat was probably considered crazy, and this meme did not get very far. But during medieval times, anyone who suggested the Earth was round could have been burned at the stake. Now, of course, the flat-Earth meme has been reduced to a vanishingly few number of adherents - it is almost extinct.

Memes can also work in concert with other memes (as genes do) to create a meme set that assists in their spread. For example, the idea Jesus died to save the sins of humanity is unlikely to get very far without its fellow meme Jesus is God's son. The spread of both of these memes is assisted by another common Christian meme, Telling others about God's message is good. Of course, these and all the other Christian memes benefited from a sporadically-reappearing Roman meme to the effect of Christianity is a cult that needs to be exterminated, which made martyrs out of the murdered Christians and lent prestige to the religion. Despite the human-rights violations involved, the Christian meme set's spread might have been retarded if the Roman Emperors had been more tolerant.

Memes as Viruses

One of the most common analogies involving memes is that which compares memes and viruses. In one sense, this comparison is absolutely correct - both are replicators that exist independently of vehicles, but also depend on infecting suitable vehicles for their own replication and spread. Indeed, both can be characterized as parasites because they make use of another organism's physical, chemical, or mental processes for their own transmission. Furthermore, both memes and viruses undergo vigorous competition for survival. Viruses must overcome the immune system and induce the host to transmit new virus particles to potential new hosts; memes must overcome the memes previously existing in a host's mind, then induce him to transmit the meme to potential new hosts. Both these processes have a great deal in common.

However, there is an unfortunate side effect to virus comparisons: they paint memes as negative, just as viral infection would be negative. The fact is, humans would be completely without minds if they were memeless (with the exception of behaviors hard-wired into our genes). Memes are not exclusively the brain parasites that the term "mental virus" would suggest to some people. Memes are simply replicating entities that compete to form meme sets and even cultures or societies.

Looking Further: Links and References

These links and references are useful in the study of the comparison between memes and genes.

• Books
  • The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
  • The Extended Phenotype by Richard Dawkins
  • Thought Contagion: How Belief Spreads Through Society by Aaron Lynch
  • The Meme Machine by Susan Blackmore
  • Virus of the Mind: The New Science of the Meme by Richard Brodie
  • Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life by Daniel C. Dennett

• Websites
  • Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
  • Memetics Resources
  • Meme Central
  • Viruses of the Mind by Richard Dawkins
  • How Do You Wear Your Genes? by Richard Dawkins
  • Memetics from Principia Cybernetica Web

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