Memes and Philosophy (Installment 1) #6

      Communication has played a large factor in the way humans have learned and understood each other since the birth of our species. As we evolved, our ways of communicating have also evolved. We have made great advances in communication technologies, allowing us to communicate even quicker than previous methods allowed. As we move through the age of information, we have grown used to technologies such as the internet and the many ways to connect to it. We can use cell phones and portable computers to connect to the Web from almost anywhere. In fact, over the past decade the internet seems to have developed its own community and culture. Young and older people have started integrating this culture into their daily lives to such a point that we start to blur real life and cyber space. Everything you do, everywhere you go and every personal event you experience will most likely involve the internet in some form or another. And by default, when we have such an integration of communities and cultures, we begin to see ideas and information get passed around. The internet enables this passing of information to be extremely quick compared to years ago when we only had the radio and rotary telephones. Nowadays, information can reach millions of people in a matter of seconds, because of this new swiftness in communication, new trends and forms come and go quickly. A recent example is internet memes. As popular as memes have become over the past decade, I’d like to pursue the idea that memes could potentially be a new form of communication. We should consider memes more seriously, especially linguistically. How complex can memes get and what potential impact do they have on us in the internet landscape and in real life?

I’d like to go over the history of the term and the beginnings of the idea. The Oxford Dictionary defines memes as, “an element of a culture or system of behavior passed from one individual to another by imitation or other non-genetic means.” In short, memes are the passing down and replication of ideas using our senses instead of through reproduction. This term was coined in 1976 by Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist, in his book, The Selfish Gene. The reason he introduced the term “meme” was because it sounded like “gene”, which he then went on to relate the two terms on a much deeper level. Dawkins is saying that in genetics, DNA is the replicating entity that, “prevails on our own planet”. He goes on to say at this point in our evolutionary line, we have unconsciously created a new replicator for cultural and non-genetic information, the meme (Dawkins 206). Unfortunately, Dawkins would only coin the term speculatively and without much more explanation. It wasn’t until 1985 when Douglas Hofstadter published his book Metamagical Themas, and introduced the term, “Memeticist”. The term was to be used analogously to the word geneticist. Hofstadter’s book would go on to be widely influential and start the modern memetics movement. Because of Dawkins’ book, The Selfish Gene, memeticists have concluded that memes are essentially metaphorical viruses implanted in one’s mind by imitation or cultural transmission. And like viruses, memes adapt to their hosts way of thinking and personality.

            

Based on the brief history and light explanation of the terms meme and memetics, you might be thinking, “how does this relate to internet memes?” Well, if we’re going by the definition in the Oxford Dictionary then memes are broader than the humorous pictures and captions you see on your Facebook page. In fact, you could say that all aspects of human culture can be considered a meme. It would take multiple novel length works to be able to go over even just a fraction of just how broad and complex memes can be. Some would suggest that memes are not complex at all and are just quick bits of entertainment and some would go so far to say that memes simplify complex issues to a laughable point, I disagree. There are many elements to memes that add to their complexity and these ideas should be investigated.

For those that still might be having trouble understanding memes, I’d like to make a comparison to a closely related concept that is used mainly for literature. It is common for tropes and memes to be related and compared because of their similarities. A writer from Knowyourmeme.com, opspe states that, "Tropes are frequently used in communication alongside memes, but there is an important difference. Memes are units of cultural expression, whereas tropes generally refer to literary devices or clichés. In a way, tropes tend to be much more general ideas than memes; tropes may form the style of a language, while memes are the objects of language." 

When communicating, a person may draw upon or refer to tropes, while incorporating specific memes.

To me, this comparison is perfect because it gives a sort of analogy to the idea of memes while also helping to explain their place in human language. We can play around with memes in many different forms and languages, but tropes set in stone the way a language or literary concept flows. So, while memes may not be a new literary device, they are an add-on or element that can make light of or simplify difficult concepts in a piece of literature. Some would disagree with this idea, Aneeq Ejaz, a writer from Quillete.com considers memes to be the return of the fable in many ways. He states that, “Just like fables, memes are community-driven, anonymously produced and open to modification.” I agree completely with this statement, but I don’t consider memes to be anywhere near fables. Fables typically include animals, supernatural elements and usually have a moral to teach, memes do not work hard enough to include any of this. You could argue that some memes might have animals in the pictures and others might have a moral theme attached to them, but memes are not short stories, they are cultural ideas in small units. Fables are also included in the realm of myth and legend, which again, you could argue that certain memes have gained the status of legend or myth. I would consider this classification to be idolization or iconic instead of legendary or mythic. Memes do not become popular on belief or faith in them, they become popular based on how easily related, replicated or imitated they become.

 What I want to do is glean light on the process by which memes become popular. Like any social trend or fad, meme creators and consumers have ideas that constantly evolve. And just like the evolutionary cycle that a species might go through, memes do the same. Memes either die out or they evolve and change slightly to match their environment, they can adapt to the social landscape and consumer opinions. If we combine these two ideas then maybe we can better understand the complexities of how we interact with memes on a conscience and subconscious level. Internet memes are classified as viruses and can be spread easily over the internet in a replicating and infectious manner. When I say, memes spread virally, I mean that they spread to multiple hosts without changing form drastically. This factor combined with the evolutionary cycle of memes allows me to conclude that there is a strong possibility that they are a new form of communication. The rapid spreading of memes across the world can be compared to the rapid spreading of languages throughout ancient civilizations. And, for those who would not completely agree, maybe they could agree that memes are just a new element or accession to our modern forms of communication. Maybe memes enhance our ability to exchange ideas on a broader level but in a viral way. It’s common nowadays for things to go viral on the internet, memes are not an exception.