Macbeth: The Example Of The Unfortunate Memes

The concept of memes that Dawkins gives his readers in Chapter 11, Memes: the new replicators, is one I truly enjoyed and closely related with the adventures of Macbeth. The definition Dawkins gives for memes, as being parts of culture which “propagate themselves in the meme pool by leaping from brain to brain via a process which, in the broad sense, can be called imitation” (192). The idea of having a new evolutionary process in the concepts that surround us, even in our beliefs (as Dawkins so passionately explains his conclusions on believing in a God due to the immense psychological appeal) is something I find very interesting due to its modernistic approach to evolution.

Dawkins sticks to the needed characteristics he talked about in Chapter 2 in order for an entity to become a replicator, which are: “longevity, fecundity and copying-fidelity” (194). The author goes through each one of these characteristics explaining how thoughts are truly a form of replicators. Dawkins is able to maintain a Formal-Informal register even as he talks of how it was troublesome to conclude how memes could have copying-fidelity. “Here I must admit that I am on shaky ground. At first sight it looks as if memes are not high-fidelity replicators at all” (194). He writes as if he is truly trying to think, in a conversational mode to the reader in order to decipher the concept. This makes the piece flowing, entertaining and engaging, giving us a moment to rest our racing, about-to-explode mind. At the same time unfolding how Dawkins comes up with the interesting conclusions we have enjoyed throughout the book. This break is short however, for we are immediately driven to continue moving our eyes and minds at higher velocities through explanations that bring Dawkins to conclude that memes are high-fidelity replicators. Our highly creative author states that you have to break thoughts into specific pieces and understand that a thought ends up being an interpretation of a previous idea which carries the essence but not the identical, specific details.

This immortality of ideas and concepts that the author explains is vastly more influential than the gene immortality for reproducing individuals. Dawkins states that if “a scientist hears, or reads about, a good idea, he passes it on [. . .] if the idea catches on, it can be said to propagate itself, spreading from brain to brain” (192). This rapid movement of ideas is obviously more stable than genes which suffer a 50% loss in each generation. I began thinking of the meme immortality entity in the story of Macbeth where we see that the witches prediction influences not only Macbeth’s doings but those of his wife and his followers. The whole plot revolves along the communication of Macbeth’s future. The decisions that are made due to this predestination build up the tragedy which ultimately serves as an example of this same kind of immortality. The immortality of thought, the amazing power of all spoken and written means, the ultimate replicators of life.