There is Hope

Humans are selfish. This is a fact that Dawkins was able to prove through his selfish gene theory. It even runs in our genes. Yet, Dawkins takes another step to talk about the culture side of human beings. He introduces us to the memes (who knew this word came from him?). Meme is an element of culture that gets passed down from one generation to another (but not genetically). Examples include fashion, music, catch phrases, etc. I’m sure many of you heard about “internet memes” especially now because there are the email forwards, instant messages, webpage links, etc for the memes to travel instantly. Memes are a way for people to transmit social memories and cultural ideas to each other – a mind-to-mind connection. If you still don’t understand what it is, just think of all those Chuck Norris jokes on the Internet. That’s a perfect example.

Example of a Meme

So typical of Dawkins, he immediately compares memes with genes. Just like genes, memes also have their own selfish side to them (although it’s not like they have any emotions). However, they have that instinct for survival. Memes compete with each other so that their idea would last longer, would become more popular, etc. They are the new replicators. Similar to genes and any other replicators, they need the “longevity, fecundity, and copying-fidelity” (194).

So are we just these gene and meme machines who can’t even control ourselves? Are we after all just controlled by something we cannot take over?

For those of you who want to believe in the good of human beings, there is still hope.  Dawkins clarifies that just because our genes or our human nature tell us that we are selfish people, it doesn’t mean we actually are. Ultimately, it is us who create who we are. Even the scientist who I believe to be extremely pessimistic seems to agree with me! “We are built as gene machines and cultured as meme machines, but we have the power to turn against our creators. We, alone on earth, can rebel against the tyranny of the selfish replicators” (pg. 201).