Re: virus: Re: What does it mean to be me?

From: Keith Henson (hkhenson@rogers.com)
Date: Sun Nov 02 2003 - 17:59:08 MST

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    At 02:24 PM 02/11/03 -0700, you wrote:

    >WARNING: OUTSIDE MEMES ARE PRESENT. YOU MAY BECOME INFECTED
    >
    >It is the goal of Buddhism to eliminate the self, in a manner of speaking.
    >
    >We see it as sort of frightening to imagine 'us' being something other
    >than 'we' are. If I drink too much and black out, what did I do in that
    >time I don't remember? Could I end up like Sybil or Ed Norton in Fight
    >Club? However, as pointed out in the article and in Buddhism, the self
    >once lost is not necessarily a bad thing (Epilepsy has other negatives to
    >it, losing the self is scary only to those who desire to hold on to the self).
    >
    >This leads me to believe that the concept of "I" is a memeplex. A
    >compositie of memories, how other people react to us, how we react to
    >outside stimuli, etc. It is not a ghost in the machine, it is an
    >infection. The question becomes: is it an infection worth having?

    I think this is an abuse of the term. Memes are replicating information
    patterns. "I" is not. You don't need to hear about some "I" meme in order
    to have an identity.

    Is the idea that things fall when released a meme? No, because you learn
    it from the environment as a kid before you can speak or understand such
    concepts. Identity, consciousness, and "I" are emergent in a similar way
    from the way our brains are organized and contact with the environment
    including other people. They are not something we learn, though there may
    be many ideas about them that *are* memes.

    Keith Henson 

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