From Bacteria to Bach and Back
by Daniel C. Dennett · first published 2017
11mentions
6recommended by
10HN commenters
2017–2025first – last mentioned
60% recommend40% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Traces how minds evolved from simple rules without a designer. It is entertaining and suited to readers who enjoy philosophical discussion of consciousness and evolution.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
xviii, 476 pages, 2 unnumbered pages of plates : 25 cm
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I think a fantastic follow-up to The Selfish Gene is Daniel Dennett's From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds: https://www.amazon.com/Bacteria-Bach-Back-Evolution-Minds/dp... The author (a philosopher informed by scientific theories, writing on the subject for many decades) weaves together the grand story explaining…
on “Ask HN: Which books do you consider real gems in your field of work/study?” ↗Academic side-note: an excellent book about memes, culture, genetics, evolution, and life is by one of my favorite philosophers: Daniel C. Dennett From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds https://www.amazon.com/Bacteria-Bach-Back-Evolution-Minds/dp...
on “Show HN: Vector icons, but for viral memes” ↗…the opposite. Sirens of Titan and Slaughterhouse Five are some of my favorite books of his. As an adult, I've been very influenced by the late Daniel Dennett and his naturalist philosophy. Books like From Bacteria to Bach and Back or Darwin's Dangerous Idea.
on “Ask HN: What's the "best" book you've ever read?” ↗If you haven't already, you should check out Daniel Dennett's "From Bacteria to Bach and Back". I think you'll be susceptible to "catching" a lot of the ideas in there :)
on “Facebook's Little Red Book” ↗I'm reading Dennet's From Bacteria to Bach and Back right now. Highly recommended if you're interested in philosophical discussions about this sort of stuff. I'm finding it highly entertaining and deliciously provocative.
on “The Brain as Computer: Bad at Math, Good at Everything Else” ↗…the need of a designer or what consciousness basically is - a high level view i.e. how can we understand it in simple terms - or what is the purpose of humor. Some examples: "Darwin's dangerous idea", "From Bacteria to Bach and Back".
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗Not a wiki article, but From Bacteria to Bach and Back is more or less about this very subject.
on “US urged to reveal UFO evidence after claim that it has intact alien vehicles” ↗…But perhaps the more important, and immediately tractable, question @benl brings up is what our approach should be? Should we make an AGI or better IA, Intelligence Augmentation? ~hard Daniel Dennett From Bacteria to Bach and Back
on “Microsoft is investing $1B in OpenAI” ↗I've never fully understood his thinking, but I think that's basically Daniel Dennett's argument in From Bacteria to Bach and Back [1]. He makes it while somehow simultaneously denying panpsychism and the reality of consciousness itself. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_Bacteria_to_Bach_and_Back
on “Geneticist Barbara McClintock on Plant Consciousness” ↗Agree, emotions I guess are more like weights or gradients of subconscious patterns. As from real vs digital I think somehow in the lines of Daniel Dennett. This is from his book " From Bacteria to Bach and back." “The fundamental architecture of animal brains (including human brains) is probably composed of Bayesian networks that are highly competent expectation-generators that don’t have to comprehend what…
on “The Entropy of Thought: Why Our Minds Gravitate Toward Divided Realities” ↗Enjoyed his participations in the "four horseman of the apocalypse" Also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZefk4gzQt4 - From Bacteria to Bach and Back Apt for today's world. Could listen to him all day.
on “Daniel Dennett has died” ↗