Darwin's Dangerous Idea
Also known as Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life
Daniel Dennett's 1995 book on what follows if design does not need a designer.
At a glance
Key ideas
Universal acid, Skyhooks and cranes, Design Space …
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Daniel Dennett and Stephen Jay Gould
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- Dennett argues that natural selection is a blind, algorithmic process powerful enough to explain the evolution of life.
- That idea, that design might not need a designer, cannot be taken back.
- He says it spreads beyond biology to mind, meaning, culture and morality.
- A long chapter criticises Stephen Jay Gould's popular writing on evolution.
Why it matters
- A widely debated statement of the adaptationist view of evolution, written for readers in other disciplines; a finalist for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize.
Key facts
- Author
- Daniel Dennett1
- Published
- 19951
- Recognition
- Finalist for the 1995 National Book Award for Nonfiction and the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction1
- Dedication
- To W. V. O. Quine, "teacher and friend"1
Key ideas
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Universal acid1
Darwin's idea eats through traditional concepts and leaves a transformed world-view.
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Skyhooks and cranes1
A skyhook is design from above, a miracle; a crane builds complexity on simpler layers.
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Design Space1
Living things and human artifacts sit in one space of possible designs.
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Meaning from mindless processes1
Meaning is the product of meaningless, algorithmic processes.
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Morality can be redesigned1
No algorithm for doing right exists, but people can design and redesign their approach to moral problems.
Connections
Links
Sources
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