From Bacteria to Bach and Back

One of the world's most original and provocative thinkers offers a major new account of the origins of the conscious mind.

What 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 deep interactions of evolution, brains, and human culture.

Part philosophical whodunnit, 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 profusion 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, this will delight and entertain anyone who hopes to understand human creativity in all its wondrous applications.