| 'Distin's discussion is even-handed and informative for those wishing to update themselves on the current state of play in the field.' Scientific and Medical Network Review
'A model of clarity, the book's appeal is wide - from philosophers to sociologists, anyone interested in how cultures change will benefit from reading The Selfish Meme. Her rigorous approach makes her theory more palatable than other theories of cultural evolution.' Philosophy Today
The Selfish Meme is a very readable and thought provoking book, and I would have no hesitation in recommending it to open-minded students and scholars in any biological, anthropological or sociological field.' Cambridge (the Magazine of the Cambridge Society)
Culture is a unique and fascinating aspect of the human species. How did it emerge and how does it develop? Richard Dawkins has suggested that culture evolves and that memes are the cultural replicators, subject to variation and selection in the same way as genes function in the biological world. In this sense human culture is the product of a mindless evolutionary algorithm. Does this imply that we are mere meme machines and that the conscious self is an illusion? Kate Distin extends and strengthens Dawkins's theory and presents a fully developed and workable concept of cultural DNA. She argues that culture's development can be seen both as the result of memetic evolution and as the product of human creativity. Memetic evolution is therefore compatible with the view of humans as conscious and intelligent. |
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 | | CCDP: Cisco Internetwork Design Study GuideLooking to advance your career as a network designer or integrator? Here's the study guide you need to prepare for the Cisco Internetwork Design exam, the final step in the Cisco Certified Design Professional program. With full coverage of each Cisco exam objective, this study guide delivers the goods on crucial design issues--from CANs, MANs, and... | | Inside Ole (Microsoft Programming Series)In writing this book, I assumed that readers are familiar with the Windows API (primarily the Win32 API) because OLE itself, unlike Win32, is not a technology for writing a complete application (although you could build one out of OLE components). I don't describe how to use Windows API functions, nor do I describe any of the intricate details of... |
Handbook on Business Information Systems
This handbook covers the vast field of business information systems, focusing particularly on developing information systems to capture and integrate information technology together with the people and their businesses.
Part I of the book, Health Care Information Systems , focuses on providing global leadership for the optimal use... | | Prince of Mathematics: Carl Friedrich GaussThe author narrates the life of Carl Friedrich Gauss, the 18th century mathematician, from his prodigious childhood to his extraordinary achievements that earned him the title "Prince of Mathematics". Along the way, the author introduces her readers to a different culture, the era of small states in Germany where advancement on merits,... | | Contemplative Studies and Hinduism: Meditation, Devotion, Prayer, and Worship
This book is one of the first wide-ranging academic surveys of the major types and categories of Hindu contemplative praxis. It explores diverse spiritual and religious practices within the Hindu traditions and Indic hermeneutical perspectives to understand the intricate culture of meditative communion and contemplation, devotion,... |
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