Abstrakt
Until recently, the Memetic (Meme) Theory (and its sequels) has been one of the most widespread theories describing the transmission of cultural units on a neo-Darwinian basis. It seems that the study of culture is currently divided between traditional paradigms (ethnology, socio-cultural anthropology, etc.) and those inspired by biology (including memetics).
The divide in the interpretation of cultural transmission seems to invoke a set of deeper questions concerning the cogency of the explanation of culture that are based exclusively on neo-Darwinian evolutionary mechanisms. Recent attempts to resuscitate memetics has lead us to a) survey the literature while seeking fatal drawbacks in the memetic model of cultural transmission; b) emphasize critical points of memetic theory (and similar neo-Darwinian based theories of culture), which circle around the topics of meaning and agency; and c) try to outline some possible directions which a biosocial approach of the study of culture may take.
Finally, this essay considers the possibilities of a constructive synthesis of biosemiotic and biosocial approaches to culture.