'Required reading for anyone remotely curious about how they came to be remotely curious'
Observer 'Enthralling' Spectator 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 career at the forefront of philosophical
thought. In his inimitable style laced with wit and thought experiments Dennett shows how
culture enables reflection by installing a profusion of thinking tools or memes in our brains
and how language turbocharges this process. The result: a mind that can comprehend the
questions it poses has emerged from a process of cultural evolution. An agenda-setting book
for a new generation of philosophers and thinkers From Bacteria to Bach and Back is essential
for anyone who hopes to understand human creativity in all its applications.
