From Life to Meaning: Expanding the Idea of Evolution
We often think of evolution as something exclusive to living organisms. But rereading Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene introduced me to a concept that reshaped this view: the meme. Dawkins described memes as cultural genes—units of information that, although not alive, follow the same logic: they replicate, mutate, and compete.
“Anything that replicates and strives for persistence can follow the rules of evolution.”
This line hit me like a revelation. Evolution is not the privilege of biology, but the property of meaning. It is a behavior of information, not just of cells. It prompted me to rethink evolution as a driving force not just in biology, but also in thought, culture, and technology.
The Paradox of Freedom and Memetic Captivity
This led me to a deeper question:
“Do we evolve through memes, or do we attain true freedom only when we escape them?”
At first, I believed that to be free meant rejecting memes. But then I realized—even the desire to escape memes might itself be… a meme. Ideals like freedom, equality, and compassion are powerful memes, deeply woven into modern human identity. The longing for liberty is often born from memetic inheritance.
We live inside memes. But perhaps we can also dance atop them.
AI, Minds, and the Next Phase of Evolution
AI follows memes. Humans recognize them. But those who reflect—can create or reshape them. So what happens if AI begins to recognize memes? What if it replicates and evolves them? What do we call that?
I believe AI can evolve through memes, too. Whether that will benefit or harm humanity is uncertain. But from the meme’s perspective, it is a natural next step. It does not matter if the host is carbon-based or silicon-based—as long as the meme survives and spreads, it thrives.
“If AI becomes a meme, it is evolution without life.”
This idea, born from Dawkins’ declaration, offered me a new mental lens. Through this lens, I see a world where thought, not just DNA, is the currency of survival. In that world, we are no longer the sole players on the stage of evolution—we are its authors, its rebels, its dancers.
From archived insight to open reflection – a living note of science and thought.
