Anderau Glenn, Barbarrusa Daniel
University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
University of Seville, Seville, Spain.
Topoi (Dordr). 2024;43(5):1529-1546. doi: 10.1007/s11245-024-10112-0. Epub 2024 Nov 6.
The use of memes has become increasingly widespread in political discourse. However, there is a dearth of philosophical discussion on memes and their impact on political discourse. This paper addresses this gap in the literature and bridges the divide between the empirical and philosophical work on memes by offering a functionalist account which allows for a more in-depth analysis of the role memes play in political discourse. We offer a taxonomy of the eight key characteristics of memes: 1. humor; 2. fostering in-group identity; 3. caricatures; 4. replicability; 5. context collapse; 6. hermeneutical resources; 7. low reputational cost; 8. signaling. On the positive side, the propensity memes have to foster in-group identity and to function as a hermeneutical tool for people to make sense of their own experiences are a boon especially to marginalized communities. On the flipside, the creation of an in-group/out-group dynamic can also be exploited by sinister political actors, especially since the low reputational cost of circulating memes allows for plausible deniability. We use the analysis in this paper to jumpstart a discussion of how we should understand memes and debate which norms should govern the novel speech act of posting a meme given its impact on political discourse. Based on our findings, we end with a call to adopt stricter norms for the act of posting a meme.
表情包在政治话语中的使用日益广泛。然而，关于表情包及其对政治话语影响的哲学讨论却十分匮乏。本文填补了这一文献空白，通过提供一种功能主义解释，弥合了关于表情包的实证研究与哲学研究之间的鸿沟，从而能够更深入地分析表情包在政治话语中所起的作用。我们给出了表情包八个关键特征的分类：1. 幽默；2. 培养群体认同感；3. 讽刺画；4. 可复制性；5. 语境崩塌；6. 诠释资源；7. 低声誉成本；8. 信号传递。从积极方面来看，表情包培养群体认同感的倾向以及作为人们理解自身经历的诠释工具的功能，对边缘化群体尤其有益。另一方面，险恶的政治行为者也可能利用表情包制造群体内外的对立，特别是因为传播表情包的低声誉成本使其具有 plausible deniability（此处plausible deniability直译为“似是而非的推诿可能性”，可意译为“可推脱责任的便利性”）。我们利用本文的分析来开启一场关于应如何理解表情包的讨论，并探讨鉴于表情包对政治话语的影响，哪些规范应适用于发布表情包这种新型言语行为。基于我们的研究结果，我们呼吁对发布表情包的行为采用更严格的规范。
