
The Meme Machine
Susan Blackmore(Author)
Oxford University Press
Published on 16. March 2000
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-0-19-286212-9 (ISBN)
Description
Humans are extraordinary creatures, with the unique ability among animals to imitate and so copy from one another ideas, habits, skills, behaviours, inventions, songs, and stories. These are all memes, a term first coined by Richard Dawkins in 1976 in his book The Selfish Gene. Memes, like genes, are replicators, and this enthralling book is an investigation of whether this link between genes and memes can lead to important discoveries about the nature of the inner self. Confronting the deepest questions about our inner selves, with all our emotions, memories, beliefs, and decisions, Susan Blackmore makes a compelling case for the theory that the inner self is merely an illusion created by the memes for the sake of replication.
Reviews / Votes
Anyone who hopes or fears that memetics will become a science of culture will find this surefooted exploration of the prospects a major eye-opener. * Daniel Dennett * Any theory deserves to be given its best shot, and that is what Susan Blackmore has given the theory of the meme I am delighted to recommend her book. * Richard Dawkins *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
220 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-286212-9 (9780192862129)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Susan Blackmore is a Lecturer in the School of Psychology, University of the West of England. The author of Dying to Live: Science and the Near Death Experience, she resides in Bristol, UK.
Author
Lecturer in PsychologyLecturer in Psychology, University of the West of England, Bristol