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Loading... Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life (1995)by Daniel C. Dennett
   No current Talk conversations about this book. Listen, this is a review tied to time and place and current feeling and what am I supposed to do about that? But, come on, you can only blanche at the Epstein-iness of the citations (Pinker, Minsky, oh my) and the cringey-ness of that late-Clinton, early-Bush anti-Theist Brights high-horsedness. Truly a testament of it times, as well as in the emphasis in AI. Oh well, interesting shit on the Baldwin Effect and determining the correct level of Darwinian reductionist to be (not Skinner, mind you!). (  ) Ebenmaessiger | Oct 5, 2019 |  DD completes the work begun in Consciousness Explained (1991), rendering a materialist account of natural design--generally, and as to the human mind in particular. We do not need a soul (it does not account for anything or add to human behavior), nor a creator to explain an artifact. And in the Preface, he declares his abandonment of "argument" --which is ignorable--and adoption of "story". Shocked? Just such an argument was made by Baha'u'llah a century ago. keylawk | Apr 19, 2017 | A very dense book that delves into physics as well as biology, mathematical theory, artificial intelligence and neuroscience. The author begins with Locke's assumption that mind cannot emerge from matter, that mind therefore must come before matter in epistemology. He then proceeds to explain that, using algorithmic process the emergence of life, the evolution of species, the evolution of mind and of morals can proceed without any need for what he terms 'skyhooks' interventions from outside the process. I think I need to reread it to get a better grasp of his arguments. ritaer | Aug 4, 2016 | (almost gave it four stars) A little bit too preachy for those of us already convinced that evolution is fact and the bible is a story. (  ) Cheryl_in_CC_NV | Jun 6, 2016 | Dennett is a philosopher with interests in evolutionary biology and cognitive studies. Since I haven't read much philosophy and only a little of the evolutionary studies he cites, this book was a slow and sometimes difficult read. I do feel that he was persuasive that he is on the right track but he cheerfully admits that not everyone in the field agrees. Dennett argues that evolution is a done deal and that there are no 'skyhooks' (supernatural elements) needed to get from just formed earth to men asking questions about how they got here. He can also inject humor into his dialog with the reader. 1  hailelib | Mar 4, 2016 |
 Daniel Dennett's fertile imagination is captivated by the very dangerous idea that the neo-Darwinian theory of biological evolution should become the basis for what amounts to an established state religion of scientific materialism. Dennett takes the scientific part of his thesis from the inner circle of contemporary Darwinian theorists: William Hamilton, John Maynard Smith, George C. Williams, and the brilliant popularizer Richard Dawkins. Is abridged in
In this groundbreaking and very accessible book, Daniel C. Dennett, the acclaimed author of Consciousness Explained, demonstrates the power of the theory of natural selection and shows how Darwin's great idea transforms and illuminates our traditional view of our place in the universe. Following Darwinian thinking to its logical conclusions is a risky business, with pitfalls for everybody. Creationists and others who reject evolution are not the only ones to fall into the traps. Many who accept the validity of Darwin's conclusions hesitate before their implications and distort his theory, fearful that it is politically incorrect or antireligious, or that it robs life of all spirituality. Dennett explains the scientific theory of natural selection in vivid terms, and shows how it extends far beyond biology. No library descriptions found. 
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