JE:-
Darwinian fitness is predicated on reproduction
and not survival. Your argument represents the
Spencerian "survival of the fittest" and "red in
tooth and claw" misinterpretation of Darwinism.
Memes, like genes, exist within bodies such that
the "knee bone is connected to the thigh bone",
i.e. the selection of any one meme remains NON
additive to at least one other within the same
mind even if each meme can be mischaracterized
as separate within mathematics. To be able to
select any one meme you must also select at least
one other _as the one, same selectable complex
trait_. For a minimum model of just two fitness
dependent memes existing within the same mind,
they have to work together in an entirely fitness
dependent way in order to be selected for. As
an example, the meme "eat white bread" as it
was (unfortunately) popularized by Queen
Victoria who considered anything white to be
more "pure", must work with the more modern and
contradictory meme "eat wholemeal bread". The
net result is a modern concoction within which
the bran is mostly white (presumably
because it has been bleached reducing the
nutrient value of white flour).
Unlike most genes, memes easily leap from
person to person without a new body
being reproduced every time. The net result
of this is that an unfit meme can take over
what is just a shrinking population, killing
in a cancerous way. Like the independently
segregating but dependently selected "selfish
genes" (which remain predicated on Hamilton's
oversimplified i.e. deletion of a critical
theory constant, model) cancerous selfish
cells and selfish memes cannot be
independently selected. This means that a
gene, a cell or a meme must increase the
total number of fertile forms reproduced
per parent per population (which I define
as Total Darwinian Fitness TDF), in order
to be selected for.
It does not matter what Darwinian sub
part you choose, the only way that
it can be selected for empirically is
via an increase in TDF (which presents
the only falsifiable fitness maximand
that we have).
Regards,
John Edser
Independent Researcher
edser@
ozemail.com.au
