模因理论的发展和应用综述

Memetics and Its Problems and Applications

模因是以生物进化原理研究文化变化和进化的概念。模因理论认为文化是主体群体嵌入在思想、行为和器物中的行为总模式及其结果,文化的创造力来自于人类存储和选择模因的能力。模因和生物学中的概念(尤其是基因)的类比是模因理论的基本构架。但是,西方学术界对类比是否具有局限性,模因理论是否是文化进化理论的正确方法等问题正在展开讨论,目的在于促进这一理论的发展。文章首先剖析模因理论中存在的这些问题,然后提出对这些问题的思考和看法,最后概括说明模因理论的应用领域和发展前景。

Meme is a concept through which cultural change and evolution are studied,with its basis on biological evolution. Memetics regards culture as the sum of the behavioral patterns and their results thereof,which have been embedded in the thought,behavior and artifacts,and the cultural creativeness originates in the capability of the human beings in their storage and selection of memes. The analogies between meme and the relevant concepts of biology（ especially with gene） are the main framework in memetics. However,what is being discussed in the Western philosophical arena is whether the analogies are limited and whether or not the memetics is the true way of explaining culture and the cultural evolution,so as to examine and promote the growth of the theory. The author first analyses the problems which are claimed to exist in memetics,then proposes his main ideas about them,and the main applications of memetics are presented next,finally,the growth prospects are offered.