Re: virus: Re: virus-digest V1 #48
David Leeper (dleeper@gte.net)
Tue, 15 Oct 1996 12:45:16 -0500
:>4) There would seem to be part of us that "sits apart" from all this, and
:>makes decisions at a higher level. It decides how much of our resources go
:>into the "sexual eco-system", the "logical eco-system", and so on. Perhaps
:>a good term for this part of us would be a "meta-meme", its is a meme that
:>influences which _types_ of memes are favored and which _types_
:>are disfavored.
:
:Ack! It's the Cartesian Theater! Begone, vile thing! ;) Seriously
:though, I'm a strong supporter of Dennett's hypothesis (elaborated in
:delightful detail in "Conciousness Explained") that the "Central Meaner" we
:refer to as "I" within ourselves is the brains user-illusion of itself and
:in fact there is not one central physical or metaphysical part of us that
:observes, selects, and/or controls behavior.
There doesn't have to be a single "I" for the concept of a meta-meme to be valid. There could
be several meta-memes, each acting upon sets of meme eco-systems, or a there could be a single
meta-meme at any given time, but over time meta-memes come and go.
As for following this or that explaination of conciousness, it's all pretty much a matter of
faith.
--
David Leeper
Homo Deus
http://home1.gte.net/dleeper/index.htm