Internalists
Internalists believe that a memes is a "unit of cultural transmission". This unit can be multiplied and copied in the brain. These memes are inherited from older generations and passed from one person to another. Internalists' main argument for why there is no advancement in memetics is that there has been no technological advancement that can account for the brain states of the meme. |
Externalists
Externalists believe that memes are observable cultural artifacts and behaviors. These cultural behaviors are can be observed and quantified whereas the internalist's memes cannot be observed. In their perspective, memetics cannot move forward as a science because you cannot quantify the memes in the brain. |
HERE IS A VIDEO FURTHER EXPLAINING THE DIFFERENCES OF INTERNALISM AND EXTERNALISMS BY TIM TYLER
Sources:
Aunger, Robert. Darwinizing Culture: The Status of Memetics as a Science. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. Print.
Shermer, Michael. "What Is Pseudoscience?" Scientific American Global RSS. N.p., 16 Aug. 2011. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-pseudoscience/>.
Tyler, Tim. Memetics: Memes and the Science of Cultural Evolution. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Aunger, Robert. Darwinizing Culture: The Status of Memetics as a Science. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. Print.
Shermer, Michael. "What Is Pseudoscience?" Scientific American Global RSS. N.p., 16 Aug. 2011. Web. 10 Dec. 2014. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-is-pseudoscience/>.
Tyler, Tim. Memetics: Memes and the Science of Cultural Evolution. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.