Dan Sperber (Central European University), Mathieu Charbonneau (Central European University)
While the word "meme" has become extremely popular, Dawkins' actual idea of a meme has had little scientific success. Dennett stand on his own in relying heavily on the idea of a meme to pursue several important philosophical goals. I will argue that the idea of a "cultural attractor," which is playing a more and more important role in the study of cultural evolution, preserves what is valuable in the idea of a meme, gives a rightful place to psychological and ecological factors or cultural success, and would provide Dennett with better scientific foundations to pursue his philosophical agenda.
