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Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science pp 3205–3220Cite as

Evolution of Culture, Memetics

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Definition of the Subject

Cultural traits are transmitted from person to person, similarly to genes or viruses. Cultural evolution therefore can be understood through thesame basic mechanisms of reproduction, spread, variation, and natural selection that underlie biological evolution. This implies a shift from genesas units of biological information to a new type of units of cultural information: memes. The concept of meme canbe defined as an information pattern, held in an individual's memory, which is capable of being copied to another individual's memory. Memetics can thenbe defined as the theoretical and empirical science that studies the replication, spread and evolution of memes. Memes differ in their degree of fitness,i. e. adaptedness to the socio‐cultural environment in which they propagate. Fitter memes will be more successful in being communicated,“infecting” more individuals, thus spreading over a larger population. This biological analogy allows us to apply Darwinian...

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Abbreviations

Culture :

The attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that, for a certain group, define their general way of life and that they have taken over from others.

Cultural evolution:

The development of culture over time, as conceptualized through the mechanisms of variation and natural selection of cultural elements.

Replicator:

An information pattern that is able to make copies of itself, typically with the help of another system. Examples are genes, memes, and (computer) viruses.

Meme :

A cultural replicator; a unit of imitation or communication.

Memeplex (or meme complex):

A collection of mutually supporting memes, which tend to replicate together.

Memetics :

The theoretical and empirical science that studies the replication, spread and evolution of memes.

Fitness:

The overall success rate of a replicator, as determined by its degree of adaptation to its environment, and the three requirements of longevity, fecundity and copying‐fidelity.

Longevity:

The duration that an individual replicator survives.

Fecundity:

The speed of reproduction of a replicator, as measured by the number of copies made per time unit.

Copying-fidelity:

The degree to which a replicator is accurately reproduced.

Vertical transmission:

Transmission of traits (memes or genes) from parents to offspring.

Horizontal transmission:

Transmission of traits between individuals of the same generation.

Memotype:

A meme in the form of information held in an individual's memory.

Mediotype:

A meme as expressed in an external medium, such as a text, an artefact, a song, or a behavior.

Sociotype:

The group or community of individuals who hold a particular meme in their memory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium

    Francis Heylighen & Klaas Chielens

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  1. Francis Heylighen
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  2. Klaas Chielens
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. RAMTECH LIMITED, 122 Escalle Lane, Larkspur, CA, 94939, USA

    Robert A. Meyers Ph. D. (Editor-in-Chief) (Editor-in-Chief)

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Heylighen, F., Chielens, K. (2009). Evolution of Culture, Memetics. In: Meyers, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30440-3_189

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