Daniel Dennett: 'I don't like theory of mind' – interview | Science | guardian.co.uk.

It is interesting that the idea of Darwinian evolution of ideas was mentioned in 2012 by Jonnie Hughes ” divine sparks of inspiration, the accidental by-products of our weird ape brains” which he suggests then evolve separate from the humans and so one is looking for the space between the human beings the ideas bouncing off 7 million brains. Post Humanism

Meme theory: Do we come up with ideas or do they, in fact, control us? – Features – Gadgets & Tech – The Independent.

Susan Blackmore said “Everything changed in human evolution when imitation first appeared because imitation let loose a new replicator, the meme. Since that time, two replicators have been driving human evolution, not one. This is why humans have such big brains, and why they alone produce and understand grammatical language, sing, dance, wear clothes and have complex cumulative cultures. Unlike other brains, human brains had to solve the problem of choosing which memes to imitate. In other words they have been designed for selective imitation.”

Meme-Gene Coevolution.

How these selection processes and spaces in which ideas are bouncing, work in a digital environment is even more interesting due to the global factor adding different cultural perspectives or perhaps flattening culture across space?

Reading Pickering (2005) on posthumanism – phew!!!!! I will try to summarise for myself and for others

Pickering suggests that the world of academics is split into two fields – the study of objects and things, the study of human meaning.
He suggests we need to think about the symbiotic relationship between the two rather than them as separate entities and quotes Karl Marx ” ‘production not only creates an object for the subject but also a subject for the object.’

He believes that if the relationship was more thought out many unnecessary side effects, disasters, resulting action would not be required. He goes on to suggest that the relationship should be more fluid and natural like de Koonings paintings evolving and simbiotic rather than prescriptive like Mondrian.

Where do the Eels come in……. He talks of Asian eels being imported as they are beautiful for aquariums, however they grew to large and could escape the tank, so people put them in local lakes, they escaped the lakes, they ate the local fish, the humand built walls to keep them out, they climbed over the walls, the humans drained the lakes, they buried in the soil and waited until they were refilled.
It reminds me of a broken path way when flowers break through – I always smile and have a feeling of joy at the strength of nature, however the posthumanist would acknowledge the whole relationship – someone will trip and get hurt, then sue the council, the council will pay for the hospital fees, the council will dig up the path, the road will be closed, the people will complain, the path will be replaced,and the person will work more hours to pay more tax, the plants will grow elsewhere. – I think ……………………..

Asian Eels and Global Warming: A Posthumanist Perspective
on Society and the Environment
Pickering, Andrew.
Ethics & the Environment, Volume 10, Number 2, Autumn 2005,
pp. 29-43 (