Q: Susan Blackmore argues that religions serve as meaning memeplexes. Why, then, does she argue that there is no real or permanent "self"? How do her views dovetail with Buddhism?

Susan Blackmore attacks the no real “self” argument from different angles. First, she goes into the whole what-is-the-mind debate. She argues that since there is no physical unit or location for the mind, there cannot be a “self” that is separate from our bodies. Some people believe we have souls, and that our souls are connected to our minds, which is the mechanism for controlling our bodies. She suggests that, in fact, we have no soul, no mind, no “me”, and therefore are only temporary beings.

“Memes are the very stuff of our minds.”

But, she adds, how can this be when I feel a “me”. I feel like my mind is controlling my body. It feels like my arms and legs are only extensions controlled by me, used for my benefit. My mind feels like the controller of my actions. She suggests that further research should be done on consciousness and free-will. I think research should be done to find out the biochemical basis for those feelings of “me”. I think the notion of a soul is grand, and it may have a long purposeful history. But instead of looking for physical evidence of the soul, they should be looking into the chemical and physiological reactions that induce specific feelings. We understand somewhat the feelings of joy and depression; that is where I think we will uncover the “soul”. In addition, just because there is no physical evidence does not mean it can’t exist. Physicists endorse the string theory without real physical evidence.

Blackmore also states that we are merely memes; whatever memes we encounter is who/what we become. Since we have no mind that makes us “us”, we are nothing more than meme hosts - shells that memes pass in and out of, changing us as they do so. That being the case, we have no originality. Nothing we think is our own thought. That, to me, is dismal. “I” am nothing and “I” have nothing. My name is not mine, lots of other people have the same name. My possessions are not mine; when I die they become trivial items. My soul is not mine if the soul doesn’t exist. My thoughts are not mine; every thought that has ever passed through my brain is just a meme of a different color. That makes me, as I have come to know myself, temporary.

So, how and why did religion evolve? Perhaps some 30,000 years ago or so a clan leader announced that being born was miraculous since there was no way to understand it. And then after that announcement, a mother’s child died. If birth now had a meaning (the meaning being it was a miracle) then the death would also have to have some meaning. Someone or something had to take the child away, just like someone or something had to allow the child to be born. Religion fills the world with meaning, and thus are meaning memeplexes.

Like all memes, they do not need to portray truth. In fact, they need not portray anything. They just need to replicate. But religion as a meme, offers an attractive trade-off – you pass on the meme and in return you get to have a reason for your life that is more fulfilling than passing along millions of imitable ideas. As the memes evolved, took new forms as living environments changed, religions also evolved to continue to give meaning. “Religions also dictate sexual practices, promote certain kinds of cooperative behavior, and regulate aggression and violence.” Religions also teach us that we are immortal. If we follow certain laws, we could live eternally in heaven or in hell. If we don’t reach enlightenment in this life, we will be reincarnated for another try. And because we feel a “me”, it is easy to believe that something must happen to “me” when my body dies. Why do my loved ones die? Where will “I” go after my body dies?

While Blackmore explains why she thinks religions give answers to these questions, and that they do in fact give answers, the answers may or may not be entirely true. She chooses to reject religions whose answer contradicts her meme theory. Instead, she chooses Buddhism.

Buddhism’s approach to the “me, myself, and I” plight is that the “very existence of self is an illusion”. We are only temporary, and to think and live otherwise causes unhappiness. "There is no self in the sense of a permanent and independent substance within existence". To accept that we are temporary is a crucial step toward becoming enlightened.

All direct quotes were taken from Susan Blackmore's book entitled: The Meme Machine.

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