The best new book Ive read.Richard Dawkins, New York Times Book Review
Over a storied career, Daniel C. Dennett has engaged questions about science and the workings of the mind. His answers have combined rigorous argument with strong empirical grounding. And a lot of fun.Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking offers seventy-seven of Dennetts most successful imagination-extenders and focus-holders meant to guide you through some of lifes most treacherous subject matter: evolution, meaning, mind, and free will. With patience and wit, Dennett deftly deploys his thinking tools to gain traction on these thorny issues while offering readers insight into how and why each tool was built.
Alongside well-known favorites like Occams Razor and reductio ad absurdum lie thrilling descriptions of Dennetts own creations: Trapped in the Robot Control Room, Beware of the Prime Mammal, and The Wandering Two-Bitser. Ranging across disciplines as diverse as psychology, biology, computer science, and physics, Dennetts tools embrace in equal measure light-heartedness and accessibility as they welcome uninitiated and seasoned readers alike. As always, his goal remains to teach you how to think reliably and even gracefully about really hard questions.
A sweeping work of intellectual seriousness thats also studded with impish delights, Intuition Pumpsoffers intrepid thinkersin all walks of lifedelicious opportunities to explore their pet ideas with new powers.
25 illustrations
