In Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life Daniel C. Dennett argues that the theory of evolution can demystify the miracles of life without devaluing our most cherished beliefs.From the moment it first appeared, Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection has been controversial: misrepresented, abused, denied and fiercely debated. In this powerful defence of Darwin, Daniel C. Dennett explores every aspect of evolutionary t...

'Required reading for anyone remotely curious about how they came to be remotely curious' Observer'Enthralling' SpectatorWhat is human consciousness and how is it possible? These questions fascinate thinking people from poets and painters to physicists, psychologists, and philosophers.This is Daniel C. Dennett's brilliant answer, extending perspectives from his earlier work in surprising directions, exploring the d...

Featuring the controversial bestselling author of The God Delusion with a foreword by Stephen Fry_________________"Do you believe in God?"_________________What readers are saying:***** ‘Awe inspiring . . . I read it in almost one sitting.’***** ‘Thought provoking . . . fascinating.’***** ‘An excellent ...

In Consciousness Explained, Daniel C. Dennett reveals the secrets of one of the last remaining mysteries of the universe: the human brain.Daniel C. Dennett's now-classic book blends philosophy, psychology and neuroscience - with the aid of numerous examples and thought-experiments - to explore how consciousness has evolved, and how a modern understanding of the human mind is radically different from conventional explanations of consciousness.What p...

Thinking is hard - yet barely a waking moment passes when we're not labouring away at it. A few of us may be natural geniuses, able to work through the toughest tangles in an instant; others, blessed with reserves of willpower, stay the course in the dogged pursuit of truth. Then there's the rest of us. Not prodigies and a little bit lazy, but still aspiring to understand the world and our place in it. What can we do?In Intuition Pumps, Daniel Dennett, one of the world's m...

Few forces in the world are as potent as religion: it comforts people in their suffering and inspires them to both magnificent and terrible deeds. In this provocative and timely book, Daniel C. Dennett seeks to uncover the origins of religion and discusses how and why different faiths have shaped so many lives, whether religion is an addiction or a genuine human need, and even whether it is good for our health. Arguing passionately for the need to understand this multifaceted phenomenon,

Dennett shows that human freedom is not an illusion; it is an objective phenomenon, distinct from all other biological conditions and found in only one species - us. There was a time on this planet when it didn't exist, quite recently in fact. It had to evolve like every other feature of the biosphere, and it continues to evolve today.Dennett shows that far from there being an incompatibility between contemporary science and the traditional vision of freedom and morality, it is onl...

Over a storied career, Daniel C. Dennett has engaged questions about science and the workings of the mind. His answers have combined rigorous argument with strong empirical grounding. And a lot of fun. Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking offers seventy-seven of Dennett’s most successful “imagination-extenders and focus-holders” meant to guide you through some of life’s most treacherous subject matter: evolution, meaning, mind, and free will.With patience and wit, ...

Daniel Dennett examines the different elements that make up what we call 'minds'What kinds of minds are there, and how do we know? The first question is about what exists and the second is about our knowledge. The aim of Kinds of Minds is to answer these questions, in general outline, and to show why these two questions have to be answered together. What exists is one thing. What we can know about is something else. But we know enough about minds, Dennett argues, t...

**This evolutionary and cognitive theory of humor seeks to reveal the complex science behind why we crack up.“A sophisticated analysis . . . written with clarity, good cheer, and, of course, wit.” ―Steven Pinker, author of How The Mind Works**Some things are funny—jokes, puns, sitcoms, Charlie Chaplin, The Far Side, Malvolio with his yellow garters crossed—but why? Why does humor exist in the first place? Why do we spend so much of our time passing on amus...

A landmark book in the debate over free will that makes the case for compatibilism.In this landmark 1984 work on free will, Daniel Dennett makes a case for compatibilism. His aim, as he writes in the preface to this new edition, was a cleanup job, “saving everything that mattered about the everyday concept of free will, while jettisoning the impediments.” In Elbow Room, Dennett argues that the varieties of free will worth wanting—those that underwrite mora...

An anniversary edition of a classic in cognitive science, with a new introduction by the author.When Brainstorms was published in 1978, the interdisciplinary field of cognitive science was just emerging. Daniel Dennett was a young scholar who wanted to get philosophers out of their armchairs—and into conversations with psychologists, linguists, computer scientists. This collection of seventeen essays by Dennett offers a comprehensive theory of mind, encomp...