This is the first book by Daniel Dennett I have read, and what a beast of a book! Dennett has successfully pushed me to new levels of mental exhaustion with Darwin’s Dangerous Idea. The idea is that in setting out to explain the origin of species, Darwin described natural selection as a mindless, purposeless, mechanical process. In other words, an algorithm that can explain all the Design in the universe through gradual accumulations over a very long time. He calls it a Universal Acid:

“It eats through just about every traditional concept, and leaves in its wake a revolutionized world-view, with most of the old landmarks still recognizable, but transformed in fundamental ways.”

The traditional western philosophical idea that Mind (an intelligent creator or God) is required to make a mind, with God being the ultimate source of design, is turned on its head by Darwin’s “inversion of reasoning” that Design can emerge via a mindless algorithmic process that doesn’t require any pre-existing Mind.

So, Dennett sets the stage for Darwin’s dangerous idea in Part I. Part II turns to biology to look at the controversies within the discipline that have arisen to challenge Neo-Darwinism, the Modern Synthesis. He then applies Darwin’s idea on humans in Part III, arguing that the origins of human culture, language, consciousness and morality must be explained through evolutionary processes.

Much of the book (especially Parts II & III) consists of refuting the ideas and arguments of other thinkers. Although a background knowledge of the people he critiques is not necessary, familiarity with the work of Gould, Penrose, Chomsky and Nietzsche would probably provide a more fulfilling reading experience. On that note, if you’re looking for an introductory book to evolutionary theory, this is not the place to start. I’d recommend Richard Dawkins’ The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design (which itself is frequently referenced in this book), then come back to Dennett.

Some of my favourite parts included the concepts of cranes and skyhooks, and Dennett’s autonomous robot thought experiment which is programmed to protect a cryogenic chamber of your frozen body into the future. Steven Pinker’s endorsement “Essential and pleasurable for any thinking person” on the front cover is an accurate description of this challenging book. Dennett is a compelling intellectual and I’m looking forward to reading his other work.

Imagine running through an orchard grabbing fruit as you go. After you finish, you look back and decide to take a very large bag and stroll slowly through again, carrying a ladder picking the best fruit you can find.

Darwin's Dangerous Idea is the first book I have ever read twice in a row. Dennett is a master of clear thinking and builds his case through logic, but he surveys a very large territory and I felt upon finishing my first read, that I hadn't grasped all he had to say. The second read was as enjoyable but more satisfying than the first, but rather than carrying a ladder, I pulled out a highlighter.

I've always been impressed with Charles Darwin and believe that his thoughts on evolution are as significant to the advance of knowledge as the discovery of how to make fire was to the advance of civilization.

For the roughly 6 million years since our branch of the tree of life separated from the ancestors we have in common with chimps and bonobos, humanity has lived in ignorance of the reality of how the world around us has come to be.

Because of the unbearable anxiety that went with ignorance, it was mandatory that something be thought up to explain things and religions fit the bill. The profound difference for those who have lived within the last 150 years, is that mythology can be put aside for truth. As far as we know, we, on our little planet, exhibit for the first time the universe coming to understand itself. For all the number of earth-like planets that may be out there, we don't have a shred of evidence to date that we are not all alone.

Life must be rare, if not unique to Earth. The dangerous idea that Dennett writes about is that insensate matter has, through blind unguided experimentation under a system of order (chemistry and physics) with the aid of inconceivable amounts of time, started life itself and then developed to the incredible variety of it we see today through natural selection.

Dennett calls this idea a universal acid because it puts holes in all of the tales we have told ourselves about a god above and our place apart from other life on earth. It's comforting to believe that there is a benevolent creator and overseer, that there is a "me" that is not entirely held within the physical body, yet nobody has ever come up with even the slightest evidence that our fond desires have anything to do with the reality of our being.

With great patience and a delightful sense of humor, Dennett methodically dismantles every attempt to falsify Darwin's idea. Even many scientists, he tells us, are reluctant to part with the idea of a "skyhook", an external, inexplicable agent that has somehow intervened to bring us to our condition of mind-directedness independent of natural selection.

We are definitely special for having language and consciousness and culture. Dennett is not belittling mankind, far from it! He sees that we are not the helpless automatons that animals are - going through the motions of life without the ability to benefit from the rich store of information that we humans have built up and readily communicate to each other. We are the masters of our fate because we have the world of ideas that transcends our genetic recipe. There is no cause for despair, but there is cause to be wary of those who would like to return to the comforts of mythology.

Darwin's Dangerous Idea is not a quick and easy read, but that is because it is so carefully crafted for the mind to follow. You cannot be distracted since an idea will be carried through several pages and you need to follow the logic. The language is not technical, Dennett peppers the text with everyday phrases. He carefully defines his terms but you have to note those definitions because the terms will pop up again and again.

Most enjoyable are his mind experiments, his constructions made for the reader to better understand a point. What if you were going to go under suspended animation for centuries and had to design a robot to get you through that period of time? What characteristics would you give it to best assure your survival? Genes have made their way through endless iterations of trial and error and what have they come up with that is successful? Look around you to see countless examples in every form of life we know, then look in the mirror.

What genes cannot do is produce change anywhere near that of the environment. This has been shown repeatedly with great die-offs that reduced the number of species up to 90% in episodes over the history of earth. In our time, humanity in its effect on the environment has created a hurdle that genetic change is helpless to address. The problem for all life is us and our own actions will determine its fate.

If you want revelation, put the bible aside and get a copy of this book. You won't need a shaman or a priest to interpret for you, all you need is to pay attention to find out how even what seem to be the most impenetrable mysteries become clear when viewed with the dangerous idea of Darwin's that turns out to be illuminating (and subject to proof) in so many areas.

Maybe I'll read it a third time. :) UPDATE 2018, I did.

Wow, I kept struggling to finish this book but I really, really hate it. In all fairness the author says in the beginning that it might be offensive. However, the first 100 pages do nothing but insult people who believe in a Creator. Regardless of the fact that his arguments against mainstream religious creation don't really apply to my religion they are still tactless enough that I don't want to continue. In addition he manages to ignore Darwin's direct influence in the eugenics movement and it's horrific consequences.

The Philosophy of Science has no greater advocate than Daniel Dennett.

I’d say the average review of 4 stars is fair. It was great to explore Darwinian thinking from a philosophical standpoint. I read this immediately after reading the selfish gene and I think they pair well together. Worth checking out and probably warrants a second inspection afterwards. I’ll likely come back to it later on and delve deeper into some sections.

The biggest fault of the book is that it spends more time in refuting than explaining. At many points, the objective of the book is less about enlightening the reader and more about proving some of author’s contemporaries and/or adversaries wrong. This makes the book not only needlessly pedagogic but also long and boring in parts.

The main topic is critically important and the author is immensely knowledgable. The deductive reasoning and logical dismantling of counterpoints throughout is some of the best one is ever likely to come across. The author spends good amount of time explaining each of the myriad of counterpoints, stripping them to their essential claims and then comprehensively debunking them. The arguments are so persuasive that the reader may even begin to doubt the sanity of those who ever made the claims!

Yet, these are the same things that make the book far less valuable. The refusals are against viewpoints from diverse and unconnected arenas. At times, they seem to be against basic religious beliefs and at others they are against the subtle alterations made by other neo/post Darwinian scientists. The loss of focus is only jarring while the underlying bitter tone is almost annoying.

The first half of the book where the author is mostly establishing the basic Darwinian concepts and their revolutionary implications are relevant for readers not reading this in the mid-nineties when the book was written. The remaining is imminently skippable.

به عقیده ی آقای دَنِت تقریبا هیچ کسی نیست که درباره‌ی داروین موضعی نداشته باشد و خود می گوید اگر قرار بود به یک فرد صاحب‌ اندیشه جایزه بدهیم،من پیش از نیوتن،انيشتين یا هر کس دیگری به داروین جایزه می دادم.
او ايده ی داروین را از این جهت خطرناک می داند که این ايده به مثابه یک اسید همه چیز خوار،هر گونه مفهوم سنتی ای را می خورد و جهان نگری دگرگون شده‌ ای را به وجود می آورد که گر چه بسیاری از نشانه‌ های اندیشه های کهنه را دارد،به صورت شالودینی دگرگون شده است.
تبيين کتاب از روند فرگشت در قالب فرآیندهای الگوریتمی که مانند یک بالابر به تدریج باعث افزایش الگوریتم پايه ی داروینی شدند و قرار دادن این تبيين بالابری در مقابل ايده ی قلاب آسمانی خلقت گرایان، از مباحث عالی این کتاب به شمار می رود.
فصل های پایانی کتاب تاثیرات فرگشت و نگرش فرگشتی در حوزه‌های فرهنگ،معنا و اخلاق را مورد واکاوی قرار داده و مطالعه ی آن بینش های نو و جذابی برای خواننده به ارمغان می آورد.
در انتها باید اضافه کنم متاسفانه ترجمه ی این کتاب (نشر لوگوس) بسیار غیرحرفه‌ای انجام‌ شده‌ و مطالعه ی کتاب را از یک تجربه‌ ی شیرین به کاری سخت و صعب تبدیل کرده است. در مقابل خلاصه ای که از این کتاب در اپیزود ۲۱ پادکست بی پلاس ارائه شده بسیار شنیدنی و دارای بیانی روان و جذاب است که علاقه مندان کتاب را به شنیدنش دعوت می کنم.

About halfway through this book I realized that I had made a terrible mistake, namely reading a book written by a philosopher about a scientific subject. This book literally says nothing new about evolution. Never have so many words been used to say so little. I slogged my way through the rest of the book, hoping to read something interesting or original, but I was sadly disappointed.

Here is a summary of Daniel Dennett's Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life: all life on earth has evolved through natural selection guided by unknown algorithms and cultural memes. That's it. Hundreds of pages to basically espouse this one idea. And it says it over and over and over and over again. Unless you are completely unfamiliar with Darwin's ideas and evolution theory, this is hardly earthshaking.

I think a joke illustrates the philosophic approach to explaining natural phenomena:

A philosopher and an engineer are on a camping trip.
Sometime around midnight, the engineer nudges the philosopher awake, and says, “look up and tell me what you see."
"I see millions of stars,” says the philosopher.
"And what do you infer from these stars?” asks the engineer.
"Well, a number of things," replies the philosopher: “Astronomically, I observe that there are millions of galaxies and billions of stars and planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Meteorologically, I expect that the weather will be fine and clear. Theologically, I see that God is all-powerful, and man, his creation, small and insignificant. What about you?"
The engineer says, "You fool. Someone has stolen our tent!"

If you are a philosophy enthusiast and somewhat interested in evolution, this book could be for you. If you are someone who can tell when your tent has been stolen, skip this book.

A philosopher writes about what psychology has to say about the brain and Homo sapiens in 1995. 20 years later this book is outdated. The book itself is written in a boring and dry way. And the final nail in the coffin is the length. 520 pages long, 300 pages too long as he just repeats the same points again and again and uses way too much space to explain simple things.

While I do agree with Dennett on most points he doesn't understand human behavior fully in 1995. Today we know a lot more. We have discovered much, much more inherited behavior and while Dennett does go against the sky hooks in this book he would be even more critical of blank slate and religious explanations of the brain today. Read Moral Animal by Robert Wright instead and a few books on evolution. This one is made obsolete.

Really liked the first half of the book, but the second half not so much. Do I get bored with books? Or do a lot of writers run out of steam before they're done?

A book about the philosophical implications of Darwinism. Written with humor and keen insight, this book has many good references for further reading.

I read this book with great interest because one of its topics -- the effect the theory of evolution has on ideas in non-biological settings like religion and culture -- has fascinated me for some time. Although many people do not find any conflict (or even relationship) between evolution and religion, I have found it difficult to see evolution as neutral on the subject of faith in an absolute deity.

Dennet argues persuasively that evolution is not neutral on the subject of religion, nor is evolution neutral towards a host of other fields. Dennett likens evolution to a 'universal acid' which eats through traditional ideas and beliefs and leaves them transformed, though not always destroyed. Indeed, Dennett claims that meaning itself is best understood as the product of an evolutionary process. Heady stuff!

Because of the broad scope of the book, some subjects are necessarily treated lightly. But the bibliography is extensive and will keep me busy for some time.

I think all of us need to read the main theses of darwin, who made it in biological science.
but after you read and know main of this idea, Daniel C. Dennett's book is very interesting and can open your mind to another branch of darwin's idea and effects.
در مورد این کتاب و کتاب های دیگری که بر اساس ایده داروین نوشته شده است بزرگترین مشکل خوانندگان این است که نظریه اصلی داروین که در علم زیست شناسی بنا گذاشته شده است را نمی دانند و تنها نمایی از آن را در علوم دیگر از طریق گفته دیگران آشنایی پیدا کرده اند.
اگر شما از این دسته نیستید .کتاب حاضر برای درک جدیدی از این نظریه بسیار جالب و درخشان است.