Abstract
Dawkins's concept of the meme pool, essentially equivalent to Popper's World 3, is considered as an expression in modern terms for what Averroës knew as the active intellect, an immortal entity feeding into, or even creating, the passive intellect of consciousness. A means is thus provided for reconciling a materialist Darwinian view of the universe with a conception of nonpersonal immortality. The meme pool/active intellect correspondence provides a strong basis for regarding science as a communal enterprise producing enrichment of the meme pool and expansion of consciousness. It also emphasizes the virtues of memetic conservation in relation to vanishing cultures.
Keywords
immortality, Karl Popper, Richard Dawkins, consciousness, meme pool, Averroës
How to Cite
Gatherer, D., (1998) “Meme Pools, World 3, and Averroës's Vision of Immortality”, Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science 33(2), 203–219. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/0591-2385.00141