integer on Mon, 15 May 2000 17:22:29 +0200 (CEST)


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to kenneth <kmcleod56@hotmail.com>

  "You've got more memes than brains,    "

To: nettime@lo.tekk

  "You've got more genes than memes,    "
 

= hou ter!bl! rel!g!ouz kardbord `You've got more memes than brains`


>I received this answer to my nettime post 'Its not me its my genes, or is
>it my memes?'. I think it is an interesting answer so I am fowarding it
>(with the author's permission) to the list. 
>
>Best. Ana
>
>===================================
>Date: Sun, 07 May 2000 16:06:03 -0400
>Subject: memes and genes
>To: aviseu@oise.utoronto.ca
>From: kenneth <kmcleod56@hotmail.com>
>
>The more we seem to advance along the parallel lines of  cyber- and genetic
>learning, a weird process is suggesting itself to me; a philosophical
>devolution of the human concept from the ëparagon of animalsí to a metaphor
>of the computer paradigm. Instead of finding new reforms for our models of
>morality to take, that is, to have our humanity mature at a pace with our
>new knowledge,  we seem to be internalizing our technology. We speak of
>ourselves as biological machines, wired by DNA, fated by our speciesí 
>programming. I canít help feeling that this is a sign of a self-justifying
>excuse for society to apply 'medicine' where it sees a need for 
>'correction'; eugenics brushes dangerously along the territorial line of
>prescribing 'cure' after the conclusion of 'diagnosis'. Itís starting to
>sound like we need 'fixing', doesnít it?
>
>I see this approaching perspective as a greater danger than any amoral
>license born of the 'boys will be boys' (or 'all men are dogs') school. I
>donít see ourselves as some sort of fleshware lugging around irresistible
>Neanderthal programming, waiting for some eugenicsí version of Prozac to
>make us citizens. Chaos would perhaps be reduced in our daily lives, but so
>would the growth that comes from imperfection. Lifestyles and good health
>has been our alternative to surgery and medication; if we apply this
>holistic outlook to our genetic profiles, we may still have the freedom to
>be responsible for adjusting to this new knowledge of ourselves 'know who
>and what you are, and thus take care of yourself'. I canít wait to tell
>somebody, "Youíve got more memes than brains, buddy!"



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