Consciousness Explained

New York Times Books of the Century

[The] book can be tough reading, but [the] writing is incisive, bright and often humorous....[T]he best example in many years of science aimed with wonderful accuracy both at scientists and at general readers.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Tufts University cognitive scientist Dennett claims to have developed a major new theory of consciousness, yet his view of the brain as a massive parallel processor is a familiar one. What is different in his counter-intuitive theory is the claim that human consciousness, rather than being ``hard-wired'' into the brain's innate machinery, is more like software ``running on the brain's parallel hardware'' and is largely a product of cultural evolution. Author of Brainstorms, Dennett leads the adventurous gently through thought experiments, metaphors and diagrams in a treatise keyed to the serious, diligent reader. He presents a plausible evolutionary scenario of how consciousness could have emerged from the hominid brain. Dennett's audacious, tantalizing foray into the mind's inner workings ties up loose ends at the interface of cognitive psychology, artificial intelligence, neuroscience and biology.

Kevin B. Korb

All in all Dennett's book is annoying, frustrating, insightful, provocative and above all annoying. Unfortunately---in this age of academic overproduction---I must conclude that for now Consciousness Explained is unavoidable reading for those who intend to think seriously about the problems of consciousness.— Psyche

New York Times Books of the Century

[The] book can be tough reading, but [the] writing is incisive, bright and often humorous....[T]he best example in many years of science aimed with wonderful accuracy both at scientists and at general readers.