The publication in 1998 of Susan Blackmore's bestselling 'The Meme Machine' re-awakened the debate over the highly controversial field of memetics. In the past few years, there has been an explosion of interest in 'memes'. The one thing noticeably missing has been any kind of proper debate over the validity of a concept regarded by many as scientifically suspect.

This book pits leading intellectuals, (both supporters and opponents of meme theory), against each other to battle it out, and state their case. With a forward by Daniel Dennett, and contributions form Dan Sperber, David Hll, Robert Boyd, Susan Blackmore, Henry Plotkin, and others, the result is a thrilling and challenging debate that will perhaps mark a turning point for the field, and for future research. Superbly edited by Robert Aunger, this is a thought provoking book that will fascinate, stimulate, (and occasionally perhaps infuriate) a broad range of readers including psychologists, biologists, philosophers, linguists, and anthropologists.

"[P]rovides the platform for a challenging debate on the subject and pits leading intellectuals (both supporters and opponents of meme theory) to state their case."--Otago Daily Times

"Watching these ... expert anthropologists, psychologists and evolutionary biologists ... debate a genuinely provocative idea ... makes for brain-stretching fun."--Weekend Australian

The publication in 1998 of Susan Blackmore's bestselling "The Meme Machine" reawakened the debate over the highly controverial field of memetics. This work pits leading intellectuals, (both supporters and opponents of meme theory), against each other to battle it out, and state their case.

Foreword, Daniel Dennett

List of contributors

Acknowledgements

1. Introduction, Robert Aunger

2. The memes' eye view, Susan Blackmore

3. Taking memetics seriously: Memetics will be what we make it, David Hull

4. Culture and psychological mechanisms, Henry Plotkin

5. Memes through (social) minds, Rosaria Conte

6. The evolution of the meme, Kevin Laland and John Odling-Smee

7. Memes: Universal acid or a better mousetrap?, Robert Boyd and Peter J. Richerson

8. An objection to the memetic approach to culture, Dan Sperber

9. If memes are the answer, what is the question?, Adam Kuper

10. A well-disposed social anthropologist's problems with memes, Maurice Bloch

11. Conclusion, Robert Aunger

Index