ABSTRACT
Abstract The French physiologist and Nobel Prize winner Charles Richet was the author of an impressive quantity of writings, including novels and poetry. He was an out-and-out eugenicist, convinced that "intentional, conscious, scientific, and methodical" selection could achieve "any result, provided we have enough patience." He believed that the quantitative and qualitative growth of the population was of vital importance for France. In La sélection humaine (1919) and other writings, he dreamt of conscious selection to create "intellectual élites." This process would be crowned by the production of a "higher human nature, a real surhumanité." A staunch believer in the inheritance of acquired characteristics, Richet combined Darwinism and Lamarckism.
Resumo O fisiologista e vencedor do prêmio Nobel Charles Richet foi autor de numerosos escritos, incluindo romances e poesia. Eugenicista meticuloso, estava convencido de que uma seleção "intencional, conscienciosa, científica e metodológica" podeira atingir "qualquer resultado, contanto que tivéssemos paciência". Ele acreditava que o crescimento quantitativo e qualitativo da população tinha importância vital para a França. Em La sélection humaine (1919) e em outros escritos, ele sonhava com uma seleção consciente criando "elites intelectuais". Esse processo culminaria com a produção de uma "natureza humana superior, uma super-humanidade". Crente aguerrido da herança de caracteres hereditários, Richet combinou darwinismo e lamarckismo.
Subject(s)
History, 19th Century , History, 20th Century , Eugenics/history , FranceABSTRACT
The research aims to create a formal definition of "Internet Meme" (IM) that can be used to characterize and study IMs in academic contexts such as social, communication sciences and humanities. Different perspectives of the term meme were critically analysed and contrasted, creating a contemporary concept that synthesizes different meme theorists' visions about the term. Two different kinds of meme were found in the contemporary definitions, the meme-gene, and the meme-virus. The meme-virus definition and characteristics were merged with definitions of IM taken from the Internet in the light of communication theories, in order to develop a formal characterization of the concept. Lastly, the use for characterization and research of the developed concept is exemplified by analysing two internet memes.
La presente investigación tiene como propósito crear una definición formal de "Meme de Internet" (IM) que pueda ser usada para caracterizar y estudiar este tipo de memes en contextos académicos como las ciencias sociales, de la comunicación y las humanidades. Para esto, diferentes perspectivas y usos del término meme son analizadas y contrastadas, creando así un concepto actual que sintetiza la visión de los diferentes teóricos de los memes. En esta fase se encontraron dos tipos diferentes de definiciones contemporáneas de meme, el meme-gen y el meme-virus. La definición de meme-virus fue usada y combinada con definiciones de IM tomadas del Internet usando teorías de la comunicación, esto con el propósito de desarrollar una definición formal de dicho concepto. Finalmente, el concepto construido de IM es ejemplificado en su uso para caracterización e investigación en el campo de lo IM, analizando dos memes de Internet.
ABSTRACT
En la primera parte se mostrarán algunos elementos históricos relacionados con la "Philosophie Zoologique" de Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, obra fundamental de la biología moderna merecedora de una mención especial en su aniversario número 200. Esta obra contiene algunos conceptos impor-tantes para "The Origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life" el trabajo fundamental de Charles Darwin. Posteriormente se revisará la idea general de la pangénesis y sus diferentes contradicciones en la explicación de la variabilidad necesaria para la acción de la selección natural que culminarían con el nacimiento de la genética. Es importante mostrar la posición particular de los experimentos mendelianos en relación con el paradigma evo-lutivo causado por el origen de las especies.
In the first part I present some historical elements related to the "Philosophie Zoologique" by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, a fundamental work of modern biology. This work deserves a special mention in its 200th anniversary, since it contains some important concepts for "The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of favored races in the struggle for life" the principal work of Charles Darwin. Subsequently we review the pangenesis and various contradictions in the explanation of the variability required for the action of natural selection that culminate with the birth of genetics. In this paper is important show the particular position of Mendelian experiments in relation with the evolutionary paradigm caused by the origin of species.