"The meme idea is interesting, but it has been discussed elsewhere in more depth with less intention of starting a flamewar" - While this is true. Dawkins did INVENT the concept (or at least the name) meme so this article surely has relevance if you are interested in memes. I agree with you on his religion bashing. He created this concept mainly to attack religions by equating them with viruses. It is interesting though that he overplays the beneficial part of computer viruses while downplaying the beneficial part of religion. The line between parasite and symbiosis is fuzzy. Even organisms like dwarf tapeworms can help people by reducing allergies so surely religion has done some good.
>>[Dawkins] created [memes] mainly to attack religions by equating them with viruses.
Huh, it was quite a few years since I read "Selfish Gene" last, but that isn't how I remember it? Where did he state that? (AFAIK, Dawkins has never been a big fan of meme-ism, the theoretical research.)
>>The line between parasite and symbiosis is fuzzy.
A bit, but I definitely remember Dawkins arguing for a simple test of this in evolutionary biology.
>>Even organisms like dwarf tapeworms can help people by reducing allergies so surely religion has done some good.
Parasites like tapeworms was so common that our immune system wasn't optimized for being without them. Does that really qualify as symbiosis?
But sure, religion might not have caused more suffering than tapeworms... :-)
