Dan Dennett: A secular, scientific rebuttal to Rick Warren

Comment by Kate on May 8, 2009 at 9:38pm

Dan, we too would like the schools to have a curriculum on Facts on all world religions - history, creeds, texts, symbolisms, music, prohibitions and requirements - presented factually,straight forwardly with no particular spin

Waldo, thanks for introducing us to Dan Dennett, For a country with a church on every corner this will not happen - talk about homogeniety

Comment by Kate on May 17, 2009 at 2:51pm

Memes

Comment by Kate on May 17, 2009 at 3:06pm

Repeating over and over again

I believe in One God
One Church

I think it is the Apostles Creed

memes, maybe???

Comment by Kate on May 17, 2009 at 3:33pm

Memetics - the study of memes and their social and cultural effects

Are memes and propaganda the same???

Comment by Kate on May 17, 2009 at 4:15pm

Pardon the going quickly before I finished listening to Dennetts Lecture.

Memes indeed.

Comment by waldopaper on May 17, 2009 at 7:12pm

If "propaganda" is successful... like "advertising," it becomes a meme... that is, a "mind virus" that sticks to people's brains to the degree that they (consciously or unconsciously) repeat it so it sticks to OTHER peoples' brains... and the mind-virus successfully replicates. Like the Lancet Fluke Dennet talks about.

A really creepy example that I'm sure you've heard: "Freedom isn't free," Or... "Blame America First." Loose translation: 1. war is OK, and 2. shuddap and stop questioning what I believe. Also, like the Lancet Fluke, memes aint real smart... they have simply evolved over thousands of years (which is incredibly fast when you think about it... like prons or virus) to adapt and replicate within their medium: people's brains and culture.

The main thing we gotta remember: memes aint human. They use our brains like the Lancet Fluke uses sheep and grass.... except they use our brains and media. All they "want" to do is make copies of themselves. They are replicators.

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