The idea that the map is not the territory seems to be itself a map, due to the fact that all words are written in symbolic form, and symbols by definition cannot be the territory itself.
So although on at least one level of abstraction 'The map is not the territory' is useful insight, on another level, it may be meaningless and/or undecidable.
This seems to lead to a credible argument, advanced elsewhere, that the meta-rational is a higher level of abstraction.
But this then seems to lead to infinite regress. As ''The map is not the territory' is also a map' is also a map. Thus implying the possibility of a meta-meta-rationality and so on unto infinity.
A corresponding possibility is that certain assertions or logical arguments may be invalid/undecidable on one level, but valid/decidable on another level, a meta-validity if you will.
There does not seem to be a way to avoid this problem as long as humans think in words, or any other system of symbols.
But this does seem to impinge on some aspect of human cognition that suggest there exist higher levels of abstraction beyond what is commonly perceived or discussed.
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Is this proof of existence of meta-memes, or meta-antimemes?
It's difficult to say, since 'proof of existence' is itself a meme/antimeme/memeplex/antimemeplex. Do we then need a 'meta-proof of existence'?
And is not 'existence' itself some kind of meme, as all expressible ideas are?
If we rephrase the question to be as general as possible:
Is this proof and/or meta-proof of existence and/or meta-existence of meta-memes, or meta-antimemes?
This seems too esoteric to be a basis for further discussion. However, the human language may not be equipped to pose such questions in a concise way.
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Perhaps a better way of approaching this would be:
What are some differentiating features of meta-memes, or meta-antimemes?
How could we reliably detect their operation on our thoughts, if any?
I am a fan of PKM systems (Personal Knowledge Management). Here the unit at the bottom level is the "note". I find that once I have enough notes, I start to see patterns, which I capture in notes about notes. I tag these notes as "meta". Now I have enough meta notes that I'm starting to see patterns... I'm not quite there yet, but I'm thinking about making a few "meta meta notes".
Whether we're talking about notes, memes or rationality, I think the usefulness of higher levels of abstraction is an emergent property. Standing at the base level, it's hard to anticipate how many levels of abstraction would eventually be useful, but standing at abstraction level n, one might have a better idea of whether to go to level n+1. I wouldn't set a limit in advance.
The idea that the map is not the territory seems to be itself a map, due to the fact that all words are written in symbolic form, and symbols by definition cannot be the territory itself.
So although on at least one level of abstraction 'The map is not the territory' is useful insight, on another level, it may be meaningless and/or undecidable.
This seems to lead to a credible argument, advanced elsewhere, that the meta-rational is a higher level of abstraction.
But this then seems to lead to infinite regress. As ''The map is not the territory' is also a map' is also a map. Thus implying the possibility of a meta-meta-rationality and so on unto infinity.
A corresponding possibility is that certain assertions or logical arguments may be invalid/undecidable on one level, but valid/decidable on another level, a meta-validity if you will.
There does not seem to be a way to avoid this problem as long as humans think in words, or any other system of symbols.
But this does seem to impinge on some aspect of human cognition that suggest there exist higher levels of abstraction beyond what is commonly perceived or discussed.
-
Is this proof of existence of meta-memes, or meta-antimemes?
It's difficult to say, since 'proof of existence' is itself a meme/antimeme/memeplex/antimemeplex. Do we then need a 'meta-proof of existence'?
And is not 'existence' itself some kind of meme, as all expressible ideas are?
If we rephrase the question to be as general as possible:
Is this proof and/or meta-proof of existence and/or meta-existence of meta-memes, or meta-antimemes?
This seems too esoteric to be a basis for further discussion. However, the human language may not be equipped to pose such questions in a concise way.
-
Perhaps a better way of approaching this would be:
What are some differentiating features of meta-memes, or meta-antimemes?
How could we reliably detect their operation on our thoughts, if any?