Memetics: Concepts, Models, and Framework
This document explores a methodological framework inspired by developmental psychology, psychoanalysis, cognitive psychology, sociology, anthropology, existential-phenomenological psychology, and transpersonal neuropsychology. The approach is both eclectic and analytical, synthesizing diverse scientific perspectives into a coherent structure for understanding cognitive and cultural phenomena.
Memes can only be transmitted by Human Beings through their five senses and interactiojns socially. and has a physical representation that can be observed.
Key Metaphors and Frameworks
The Cognitive Patchwork
The overarching metaphor combines Hegel’s “journalistic morning prayer” and the concept of a “cognitive patchwork,” emphasizing the integration of diverse disciplines. The analyst, drawing inspiration from Leibniz and Michel Serres, is likened to a “cybernetic navigator,” exploring scientific “archipelagos” and charting connections between fields. These voyages traverse “waterways” of world literature, media, and the Internet, conceptualized as “amniotic oceanic communication.”
Freud’s Explorer Archetype
Freud’s self-perception as an explorer—a “conquistador” driven by curiosity and resilience—serves as a model. He identified with figures like Oedipus, who solved the riddle of the Sphinx, and Moses, who led his people to the Promised Land. This spirit of inquiry underpins the memetic exploration of unknown cognitive and cultural territories.
Analytical Focus
Mapping the Cognitive Landscape
The methodology involves analyzing an unstructured cognitive and imaginary continuum, encompassing:
- Objects and Relations: Freudian cathexes, behavioral patterns, and language structures.
- Symbolic Recurrences: Identifying recurring symbols, narratives, and isomorphic structures in observed phenomena.
Structural Frameworks
By applying models, schemas, and system constructions to social events, behaviors, and phenomena, structural meanings emerge. These meanings are found within chains of signifiers, patterns of influence, and impressions. The process alternates between analyzing forms/containers and their substance/contents.
Methodological Approaches
Techniques of Analysis
- Abduction, Induction, and Deduction: Employing these reasoning methods to identify structural isomorphisms and differences.
- Differentiation and Comparison: Breaking down structures into inner/outer, self/other, and hierarchical relationships.
- Iterative Synthesis: Constructing and deconstructing cognitive frameworks to reveal deeper patterns.
Memetic Lexicon
The brain functions as a “memetic lexicon,” constantly updated by incorporating and discarding schemas. Structures that structure other structures are studied, focusing on relationships, conditions, and emergent systems.
Central Themes
Self and Other
The investigation centers on the individual’s cognitive constructions of self and others within an evolutionary context. This includes the development of cognitive equipment such as images, scenarios, schemas, and interpretations.
Personal Growth
Key areas of focus include:
- Self-awareness and Actualization: The development of selfhood and the paths of personal growth.
- Interpersonal Relations: Examining conditions of upbringing, such as schools and cultural contexts, that shape the social attachment space.
Knowledge Formation
Understanding the chaotic and unpredictable aspects of reality requires constructing knowledge frameworks that render the world comprehensible and predictable.
Conceptual Foundations
Cognitive and Psychological Models
- Piaget’s Cognitive Schemas: Stages of schema development.
- Freud’s Traumas: Psychoanalytic exploration of formative experiences.
- Jung’s Complexes: Analytical psychology’s insights into subconscious structures.
- Erikson’s Epigenetic Principle: Life-stage developmental framework.
- Kelly’s Personal Constructs: Individual cognitive systems for interpreting reality.
- Grof’s COEX Systems: Holotropic patterns of experiential structures.
Memetic Templates
Memes are understood as templates—patterns, schemas, constructs, archetypes, metaphors, and myths—that shape and are shaped by reality. These include:
- Temporal Schemas: Logical and historical sequences.
- Design Layers: Nested systems of meaning and structure.
Practical Implications
Explorer’s Mindset
The “conquistador” mindset encourages analysts to independently navigate various domains, identifying topologies and patterns of human experience. This entails crafting working models and conceptual frameworks to understand life’s complexities.
Constructing Meaning
Creating knowledge and uncovering connections is vital for making sense of chaotic realities. This involves:
- Deciphering Patterns: Recognizing recurring themes and structural relationships.
- Responding to Disruption: Addressing existential crises when established systems are threatened by new possibilities.
Conclusion
Memetics offers a sophisticated and eclectic approach to understanding cognitive and cultural phenomena. By integrating diverse scientific insights, constructing models, and mapping the patterns of human experience, we gain deeper insights into the evolving interplay between self, society, and the hidden reality. This method not only aids in knowledge creation but also fosters resilience and adaptability in a constantly changing world.
