From Bacteria to Bach and Back

'Required reading for anyone remotely curious about how they came to be remotely curious' Observer

'Enthralling' Spectator

Whatis human consciousness and how is it possible? These questionsfascinate thinking people from poets and painters to physicists,psychologists, and philosophers.

This is Daniel C. Dennett'sbrilliant answer, extending perspectives from his earlier work insurprising directions, exploring the deep interactions of evolution,brains and human culture. Part philosophical whodunnit, part boldscientific conjecture, this landmark work enlarges themes that havesustained Dennett's career at the forefront of philosophical thought. Inhis inimitable style, laced with wit and thought experiments, Dennettshows how culture enables reflection by installing a profusion ofthinking tools, or memes, in our brains, and how language turbochargesthis process. The result: a mind that can comprehend the questions itposes, has emerged from a process of cultural evolution.

Anagenda-setting book for a new generation of philosophers and thinkers, From Bacteria to Bach and Back is essential for anyone who hopes tounderstand human creativity in all its applications.

Reviews

Beguiling and enthralling