Darwins Dangerous Idea Evolution & the Meanings of Life

In a book that is both groundbreaking and accessible, Daniel C. Dennett, whom Chet Raymo of andlt;Iandgt;The Boston Globeandlt;/Iandgt; calls "one of the most provocative thinkers on the planet," focuses his unerringly logical mind on the theory of natural selection, showing how Darwin's great idea transforms and illuminates our traditional view of humanity's place in the universe. Dennett vividly describes the theory itself and then extends Darwin's vision with impeccable arguments to their often surprising conclusions, challenging the views of some of the most famous scientists of our day.

John Gribbin andlt;Iandgt;Sunday Times,andlt;/Iandgt; London This is the best single-author overview of all the implications of evolution by natural selection available....Lucid and entertaining.

James Moore coauthor of andlt;Iandgt;Darwinandlt;/Iandgt; A brilliant piece of persuasion, excitingly argued and compulsively readable. Its lucid metaphors and charming analogies are reminiscent of andlt;Iandgt;On the Origin of Species.andlt;/Iandgt;

John Gribbin

Sunday Times, London

This is the best single-author overview of all the implications of evolution by natural selection available....Lucid and entertaining.

'James Moore

coauthor of Darwin

A brilliant piece of persuasion, excitingly argued and compulsively readable. Its lucid metaphors and charming analogies are reminiscent of On the Origin of Species.

'

Carl Sagan andlt;Iandgt;The Washington Post Book Worldandlt;/Iandgt; A breath of fresh air.

Jim Holt andlt;Iandgt;The Wall Street Journalandlt;/Iandgt; Dennett is a philosopher of rare originality, rigor, and wit. Here he does one of the things philosophers are supposed to be good at: clearing up conceptual muddles in the sciences.

Richard Dawkins author of andlt;Iandgt;The Blind Watchmakerandlt;/Iandgt; A surpassingly brilliant book. Where creative, it lifts the reader to new intellectual heights. Where critical, it is devastating.

Richard Rorty andlt;Iandgt;Lingua Francaandlt;/Iandgt; One of our most original and most readable philosophers....Once in a blue moon an analytic philosopher comes along who redeems his subdiscipline by combining professional persnicketiness with a romantic spirit, a vivid imagination, and a sense of humor.

andlt;Bandgt;Daniel Dennettandlt;/Bandgt; is the author of andlt;Iandgt;Brainstorms, Elbow Room,andlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;Consciousness Explained.andlt;/Iandgt; He is currently the Distinguished Arts and Sciences Professor and Director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University. He lives in North Andover, Massachusetts, with his wife and has two children.

andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Bandgt;Contentsandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Prefaceandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Part I: Starting in the Middleandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER ONEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Tell Me Whyandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. Is Nothing Sacred?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. What, Where, When, Why -- and How?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3. Locke's "Proof" of the Primacy of Mindandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;4. Hume's Close Encounterandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER TWOandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;An Idea Is Bornandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. What Is So Special About Species?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. Natural Selection -- an Awful Stretcherandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3. Did Darwin Explain the Origin of Species?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;4. Natural Selection as an Algorithmic Processandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;5. Processes as Algorithmsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER THREEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Universal Acidandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. Early Reactionsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. Darwin's Assault on the Cosmic Pyramidandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3. The Principle of the Accumulation of Designandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;4. The Tools for R and D: Skyhooks or Cranes?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;5. Who's Afraid of Reductionism?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER FOURandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;The Tree of Lifeandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. How Should We Visualize the Tree of Life?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. Color-coding a Species on the Treeandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3. Retrospective Coronations: Mitochondrial Eve and Invisible Beginningsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;4. Patterns, Oversimplification, and Explanationandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER FIVEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;The Possible and the Actualandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. Grades of Possibility?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. The Library of Mendelandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3. The Complex Relation Between Genome and Organismandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;4. Possibility Naturalizedandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER SIXandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Threads of Actuality in Design Spaceandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. Drifting and Lifting Through Design Spaceandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. Forced Moves in the Game of Designandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3. The Unity of Design Spaceandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Part II: Darwinian Thinking in Biologyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER SEVENandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Priming Darwin' s Pumpandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. Back Beyond Darwin's Frontierandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. Molecular Evolutionandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3. The Laws of the Game of Lifeandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;4. Eternal Recurrence -- Life Without Foundations?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER EIGHTandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Biology Is Engineeringandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. The Sciences of the Artificialandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. Darwin Is Dead -- Long Live Darwin!andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3. Function and Specificationandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;4. Original Sin and the Birth of Meaningandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;5. The Computer That Learned to Play Checkersandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;6. Artifact Hermeneutics, or Reverse Engineeringandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;7. Stuart Kauffman as Meta-Engineerandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER NINEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Searching for Qualityandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. The Power of Adaptationist Thinkingandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. The Leibnizian Paradigmandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3. Playing with Constraintsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER TENandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Bully for Brontosaurusandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. The Boy Who Cried Wolf?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. The Spandrel's Thumbandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3. Punctuated Equilibrium: A Hopeful Monsterandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;4. Tinker to Evers to Chance: The Burgess Shale Double-Play Mysteryandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER ELEVENandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Controversies Containedandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. A Clutch of Harmless Heresiesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. Three Losers: Teilhard, Lamarck, and Directed Mutationandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3. Cui Bono?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Part III: Mind, Meaning, Mathematics, and Moralityandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER TWELVEandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;The Cranes of Cultureandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. The Monkey's Uncle Meets the Memeandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. Invasion of the Body-Snatchersandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3. Could There Be a Science of Memetics?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;4. The Philosophical Importance of Memesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER THIRTEENandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Losing Out Minds to Darwinandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. The Role of Language in Intelligenceandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. Chomsky Contra Darwin: Four Episodesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3. Nice Triesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER FOURTEENandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;The Evolution of Meaningsandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. The Quest for Real Meaningandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. Two Black Boxesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3. Blocking the Exitsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;4. Safe Passage to the Futureandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER FIFTEENandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;The Emperor's New Mind, and Other Fablesandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. The Sword in the Stoneandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. The Library of Toshibaandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3. The Phantom Quantum-Gravity Computer: Lessons from Laplandandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER SIXTEENandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;On the Origin of Moralityandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. E Pluribus Unum?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. Friedrich Nietzsche's Just So Storiesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3. Some Varieties of Greedy Ethical Reductionismandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;4. Sociobiology: Good and Bad, Good and Evilandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER SEVENTEENandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Redesigning Moralityandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. Can Ethics Be Naturalized?andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. Judging the Competitionandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3. The Moral First Aid Manualandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;CHAPTER EIGHTEENandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;The Future of an Ideaandlt;/Iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. In Praise of Biodiversityandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. Universal Acid: Handle with Careandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Appendixandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Bibliographyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Indexandlt;/Iandgt;