From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds

Human consciousness fascinates thinking people from poets and painters to physicists, psychologists and philosophers. Daniel C. Dennetts From Bacteria to Bach and Back extends perspectives from his earlier work in surprising directions, exploring the deep interactions of evolution, brains and human culture. Part philosophical whodunit, part bold scientific conjecture, this landmark work enlarges themes that have sustained Dennetts 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 bounty 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.