Philosophical aspects of human gene-socio-cultural co-evolution

The article is devoted to the consideration of the role of replicators (genes and memes) in the biosociocultural evolution of a person in the modern global information society. Based on the theory of replicators by R. Dawkins, the concept of cellular autopoiesis by U. Maturana and F. Varela, and an integrative approach to the evolution of biological and sociocultural systems, the paper points to the commonality of genes and memes in terms of their distribution from one person to another and in the media sphere. The category “brain” is introduced into scientific circulation, which expands the philosophical ideas about the genetic and socio-cultural co-evolution of a person and his transformation in society. In this context, attention is focused on the fact that genes, together with memes, play a key role in the transmission of biosociocultural information in nature and society. The article notes that the media sphere and the brain of the person himself act as elements of replication of cultural replicators (meme-viruses). It is shown that the basis of social interaction and the transfer of memetic information from person to person can be imitation processes associated with the movement of matter. This circumstance gives reason to believe that the transfer of knowledge about the reality around us occurs on the basis of uniform laws of selforganization of biological and sociocultural systems. In this regard, based on the principles of synergetics, the article discusses and describes such properties of memes as replication, competition, durability, survivability and independence from the will of the carrier. Also, in the course of our study, it was determined that in the global world, memes began to spread almost instantly in the media space due to the universal electronic environment and the ability of this type of information to evoke an emotional reaction in a person. Therefore, destructive memes have become a good tool that can influence the moral, ethical and political agenda, and even change the preferences of voters. Disadaptogenesis, an objective feature in the activity of the human brain, which in some cases triggers destructive processes, can act as a process contributing to this negative influence. At the end of the article, it was concluded that memes, like genes, lead to the transformation of a person, that is, they determine his upward and (or) downward biosociocultural evolution. The results of this study can be used to develop general principles for preventing the spread of destructive memes in society. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

Keywords

Authors

References