The genes of culture

Evolution is based on particular molecules that can replicate themselves, which are passed from generation to generation and sometimes undergo slight changes, both when considered individually (mutations), both when considered in their whole within a population (genetic drift, natural selection,...). There have been several attempts to explain the changes in culture over time in terms of evolution, and is interesting especially the concept of "meme", coined by the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins ("The selfish gene", 1976).

Memes play a similar role to that of genes in evolution: they are entities that bring about cultural informations, transmitted in several ways: language, writing, music, and generally any means of communication. The most interesting fact is that memes are subject to the same phenomena that involve genes: mutations, change of their frequency in the population and extinction.

The similarities go even further. A gene is favored by natural selection if it increases the reproductive success of an organism, that is if it increases his chances of being transmitted. Memes can have more or less success in a population and this depends, on how a person is devoted to the propagation of a meme and on how it takes hold in the population (for example, how many times a certain behavior is imitated by others).

So it is clear that one of the best examples of a meme are all moral, political and religious ideologies. But so are also proverbs, legends, myths, songs, the various trends or common sayings, and obviously the technological knowledge. Thus, a very successful meme is one whose success does not depend on the subjectivity of a person, but that can be shared by many people.

Superstitions, religions and political ideas are perfect memes because they provide answers to many fundamental questions of life and very often those who share these ideas are influenced by other memes, from an ethical and behavioural point of view. This is especially the case of religions. In fact, very often those who do not belong to a certain religion are hit by threats concerning eternal punishments, and also people who are deeply faithful not only show a very strong mindedness to other ideas, but sometimes also devote much of their lives to spreading their convictions.

In general, we can compare culture to a gene pool, composed by a series of units that carry informations and pass through many people changing slightly and affecting their lives.