Title:
Darwin's Dangerous Idea
Author:
Daniel C. Dennett
Publisher:
Simon & Schuster, New York, 1995
ISBN
0-684-80290-2

As long as I can remember, I've been a Darwinist. The story of Genesis never was more than a story to me. Why, I cannot say - perhaps my parents imparted on me an upbringing that was much more liberal than their later spiritual life would imply. I can say for certain that my formal education - both in Germany and in the USA - had only a small part, if any, in forming my convictions.

The problem with convictions is, however, that without a basis in knowledge, they become dogma - perhaps unshakable, but certainly immune to learning. As a non-biologist, it follows that Darwinism for me is more an article of faith than a feature of my intellectual landscape.

Daniel C. Dennett undertakes to give people like me a more secure grounding. In Darwin's Dangerous Idea he promises a journey into controversy, sparing no feelings, giving ground to no sacred hopes. Dennett offers a confrontation, to see what survives. He invites anyone who is not afraid of the confrontation to come along - presumably this includes Darwin's most vociferous critics, as well as his faithful supporters.

Lay people don't have a chance to perceive more than the most basic issues raised by Darwinism. In fact, until I read Dangerous Idea, I saw the conflict as one between religious fundamentalists and scientists.

I quickly realized that I was mistaken.

Dennett describes Darwinism beleaguered by those who would see more to their existence than the culmination of a few eons of random errors in copying. He illustrates this again and again using the ingenious image of a construction crane - a simple device that can be used to construct ever taller cranes. He contrasts this with the joke of a "skyhook," an imaginary device which might be used to suspend objects in mid air. Darwin's critics, Dennett argues again and again, would not be this hot in pursuit, if they weren't wishing for a skyhook: some proof that humans were special.

This crane-skyhook comparison is set up in the first few pages of the book, and resurfaces throughout the book. Of course, Dennett doesn't resort to name-calling to defend Darwinism, but once he has shown where Darwin's critics fail, he often points out that the critics might not even be critics, if they weren't looking for a skyhook.

Another powerful mental image that Dennett creates for the reader is that of "The Library of Babel." Dennett credits Jorge Luis Borges with the invention of this library, which is a place practically infinite in size, and contains every book that could ever have been written. He then uses this Library to illustrate several basic concepts of Darwinism, such as design space, fitness space, and design paths.

Tools like this are indispensible as Dennett creates a sweeping and encompassing view of the issues surrounding Darwinism. How else could I come to grips with the apparently bizarre philosophical arguments levelled against Darwinism? Dennett replies to some truly far-out critiques in this book, but using imaginary vending machines, black boxes, and robots, he battles against the likes of Stephen Jay Gould, Noam Chomsky, John Searle, and Kurt Gödel. And he manages to keep me along throughout the trip!

The book, almost 600 pages long, is one of the most challenging books I have undertaken to read in recent years. This is certainly a consequence of its subject. Dennett works hard to make even the most esoteric philosophical challenges readable through the use of literary imagery, explanatory footnotes, and clarifying thought experiments.

He divides his task into three parts, telling the story of evolution, taking on its critics, and offering a close look at some of the less obvious consequences of Darwinism - theories on the origins of the human mind, language, and culture, and on their possible future. Everything appears carefully footnoted - a 25 page bibliography of references bears witness to thorough research and the index reflects equal care in the writing of the book.

Add Dennett's easy prose, and a task of potentially deadly tedium becomes an enjoyable intellectual exercise, at a time when many authors and publishers seem to have decided that the public's mental muscle is barely capable of basic literacy.

For what it's worth, I highly recommend this book to all who wonder about Darwin's standing in modern science, whether they are Darwinists or whether they still have hope for mankind's special place in creation. Find the book in your library, and give Dennett some of your time!