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From Bacteria to Bach and Back
- The Evolution of Minds
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 15 hrs and 44 mins
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From Bacteria to Bach and Back
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Publisher's Summary
What is human consciousness, and how is it possible? This question fascinates thinking people from poets and painters to physicists, psychologists, and philosophers. From Bacteria to Bach and Back is Daniel C. Dennett's brilliant answer, extending perspectives from his earlier work in surprising directions, exploring the deep interactions of evolution, brains, and human culture.
Part philosophical whodunit, part bold scientific conjecture, this landmark work enlarges themes that have sustained Dennett's legendary career at the forefront of philosophical thought. In his inimitable style - laced with wit and arresting thought experiments - Dennett shows how culture enables reflection by installing a bounty of thinking tools, or memes, in our brains. Language, itself composed of memes, turbocharged this interplay. The result, a mind that can comprehend the questions it poses, emerges from a process of cultural evolution.
An agenda-setting book for a new generation of philosophers and other researchers, From Bacteria to Bach and Back will delight and entertain anyone who hopes to understand human creativity in all its wondrous applications.
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What listeners say about From Bacteria to Bach and Back
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- RandomAccount007
- 2024-01-31
Solid and Accessible
Has its esoteric digressions and some things that are hard to buy, including the discussions about memes. But tackles the subject matter in an accessible way. Better than his others.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2019-03-24
Very good presentation of this concept
I have read many books from Daniel Dennett and I found this one particularly good, the way the idea is presented starting for the bacterias and how it has evolved to get to the level of expertise exemplified by Bach is very elegant. The sequence of chapters is also quite good, the audio book is good but I think that the ability to have the book in kindle for example to make notes makes easier to follow to book and understand all the concepts.
It is highly recommended.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Anton Vikoch
- 2019-05-08
Worst Daniel Dennett book by far.
Worst Daniel Dennett book by far. I'm also surprised about some uncharacteristically trivial logic errors he makes in a few arguments.
For example, he says Decartes demon is unlikely because the possibility that so many independently thinking people could arrive at the same false conclusion is unlikely. The flaws being (weak reply) unlikely isn't impossible and Descartes wants to be certain and second (strong reply) if it were true that humans all evolved from the same ancestors and human minds were evolved to work well in their environment not to be oracles of truth, then the independence of conclusions he claims is false because our conclusions aren't independent.
This combined with other bad arguments about free will make me wonder if motivated reasoning was the primary drive and not philosophy.
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