The Discussion that Sparked an Atheist Revolution Foreword by Stephen Fry

The Four Horsemen

The transcript of the one and only conversation between 'the four horsemen' of New Atheism, with  introductions from Dawkins, Dennett and Harris and a sparkling foreword by Stephen Fry.

This transcript  is of historical significance and belongs in the library of all thinking people. A classic for our time...and all time.

Michael Shermer, Publisher Skeptic magazine, monthly columnist Scientific American, Presidential Fellow Chapman University, author of Heavens on Earth, The Moral Arc, The Believing Brain, and Why People Believe Weird Things

I have a short list of intellectual heroes, and Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Daniel Dennett each have a place on it—not because I always agree with their views, but because I'm in awe of the way they form, express, and defend their views. If thinking were a sport, these four would be national superstars—and reading The Four Horsemen feels like having a front row seat at the all-star game. This is more than a book about atheism and religion—it's a lesson in how to use our intellect to cut through the haze of delusion and misconception inherent in any human society.

Tim Urban, author of the blog 'Wait But Why'

We are slowly losing the hard-won right, gained by brave heroes of the enlightenment such as Voltaire and Hume, to be free to criticise religion without persecution and prosecution; the crime of blasphemy is creeping back. The words of Hitchens, Dawkins, Harris and Dennett are needed more than ever. These are the heirs to Voltaire.

Matt Ridley, author of The Evolution of Everything

I was gripped. Throughout this erudite conversation the humility and openness of science shines against religion’s arrogance, hypocrisy and sheer gall in just ‘making stuff up’. How refreshing it is.

If you had to pick a place for our pop culture to change, Sun Records on December 4, 1956 at a jam session with Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley is a pretty good symbolic spot.  This conversation on September 30th, 2007 with Daniel, Sam, Richard, and Elvis . . . I mean Hitch at Hitch’s pad is as good a place as any to mark the start of the Atheist revolution.

What a gift to be able to eavesdrop on this conversation!  These four are the kinds of thinkers we don’t get enough of anymore; unapologetic, uncompromising, and deeply generous with one another as well as anyone who happens to be listening in. You needn’t be an atheist or a horseman to relish every word of this delightful book. You just need to be hungry for genuine intellectual inquiry and open debate. And, let’s face it, you’re probably starving.

Meghan Daum, author of The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects Of Discussion

Reading this book is like to getting to spend a profound afternoon with some of our greatest intellectuals. Blasphemous, erudite, devastatingly truthful, slyly hilarious.  I gasped, I laughed, I nodded, and sometimes had to stop and just think for a moment about what they'd dared to say.

Julia Sweeney, author of Letting Go of God

For people inclined to disbelieve supernatural explanations -- in America, we few, we happy few, we band of brothers and sisters -- The Four Horsemen is a smart, fun, funny, seriously provocative primer.

Thrilling...Challenging...This bracing exchange of ideas crackles with energy...an invigorating example of what happens when astute, inquisitive minds engage together on deep questions.

Richard Dawkins (Author) Richard Dawkins is author of The Selfish Gene, voted The Royal Society's Most Inspiring Science Book of All Time, and also the bestsellers The Blind Watchmaker, Climbing Mount Improbable, The Ancestor's Tale, The God Delusion, and two volumes of autobiography, An Appetite for Wonder and Brief Candle in the Dark. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and a fellow of both the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Literature. In 2013, Dawkins was voted the world’s top thinker in Prospect magazine’s poll of 10,000 readers from over 100 countries. Sam Harris (Author) Sam Harris is the author of five New York Times bestsellers. His books include The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation, The Moral Landscape, Free Will, Lying, and Waking Up. The End of Faith won the 2005 PEN/Martha Albrand Award for Nonfiction. His work has been published in more than twenty languages. Harris has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Economist, The Times, the Boston Globe, the Atlantic, Annals of Neurology, and other outlets. He received a degree in philosophy from Stanford University and a PhD in neuroscience from UCLA. Please visit his website at SamHarris.org. Daniel C. Dennett (Author) Daniel C. Dennett was an American philosopher and cognitive scientist whose research centred on the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of biology, particularly as those fields relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science. He was the Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University and a visiting professor at Oxford and the London School of Economics. He is the author of numerous books including Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking, Breaking the Spell, Darwin's Dangerous Idea, and Consciousness Explained. He died in April 2024. Christopher Hitchens (Author) Christopher Hitchens was an English-born American author, journalist and literary critic. He was a columnist at Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, World Affairs, The Nation, Slate, Free Inquiry, and a variety of other media in a career that spanned more than four decades and made him a prominent public intellectual, and a staple of talk shows and lecture circuits. His books include The Monarchy; Blood, Class, and Nostalgia; No One Left to Lie Toand God Is Not Great. He died in 2011. Stephen Fry (Foreword By) Stephen Fry is an award-winning comedian, actor, presenter and director. He rose to fame alongside Hugh Laurie in A Bit of Fry and Laurie (which he co-wrote with Laurie) and Jeeves and Wooster, and was unforgettable as General Melchett in Blackadder. He has hosted over 180 episodes of QI, and has narrated all seven of the Harry Potter novels for the audiobook recordings. He is the bestselling author of four novels - The Stars' Tennis Balls, Making History, The Hippopotamus and The Liar - as well as three volumes of autobiography - Moab is My Washpot, The Fry Chronicles and More Fool Me. Mythos and Heroes, his retelling of the Greek myths, are both Sunday Times bestsellers.

The Evolution of Minds

From Bacteria to Bach and Back

'Required reading for anyone remotely curious about how they came to be remotely curious' Observer 
 
'Enthralling' Spectator 
 
What is human consciousness and how is it possible? These questions fascinate thinking people from poets and painters to physicists, psychologists, and philosophers. 
 
This is Daniel C. Dennett's brilliant answer, extending perspectives from his earlier work in surprising directions, exploring the deep interactions of evolution, brains and human culture. Part philosophical whodunnit, part bold scientific conjecture, this landmark work enlarges themes that have sustained Dennett's career at the forefront of philosophical thought. In his inimitable style, laced with wit and thought experiments, Dennett shows how culture enables reflection by installing a profusion of thinking tools, or memes, in our brains, and how language turbocharges this process. The result: a mind that can comprehend the questions it poses, has emerged from a process of cultural evolution. 
 
An agenda-setting book for a new generation of philosophers and thinkers, From Bacteria to Bach and Back is essential for anyone who hopes to understand human creativity in all its applications.

Intelligence, insight and flair ... They don't come much bigger than Daniel Dennett

Lucid ... A brave and bracing book ... There should be more like it

Required reading for anyone remotely curious about how they came to be remotely curious

A lively and cogent account of how human beings, uniquely among species, have evolved to possess a conscious mind ... An excellent exploration of the concept of cultural evolution, and the origins and consequences of human creativity

Daniel C. Dennett is the University Professor and Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University. He is the author of numerous books including Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking, Breaking the Spell, Darwin's Dangerous Idea, and Consciousness Explained.

What is human consciousness and how is it possible? These questions fascinate thinking people from poets and painters to physicists, psychologists, and philosophers. This is Daniel C. Dennett's brilliant answer, extending perspectives from his earlier work in surprising directions, exploring the deep interactions of evolution, brains, and human culture. Part philosophical whodunnit, part bold scientific conjecture, this landmark work enlarges themes that have sustained Dennett's legendary career at the forefront of philosophical thought. In his inimitable style, laced with wit and arresting thought experiments, Dennett shows how culture enables reflection by installing a profusion of thinking tools, or memes, in our brains. Language, itself composed of memes, turbocharged this interplay. The result, a mind that can comprehend the questions it poses, emerges from a process of cultural evolution. An agenda-setting book for a new generation of philosophers and other researchers, this will delight and entertain anyone who hopes to understand human creativity in all its wondrous applications.

Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking

In Intuition Pumps, Daniel Dennett, one of the world's leading philosophers, and author of Consciousness Explained and Freedom Evolves, offers aspiring thinkers his personal trove of mind-stretching thought experiments 
 
Thinking is hard. A few of us may be natural geniuses; others are blessed with reserves of willpower. Then there's the rest of us: not prodigies and short on time, but still aspiring to understand the world. What can we do? Daniel Dennett, one of the world's most original thinkers, reveals a collection of his favourite thinking tools, or 'intuition pumps'. From Occam's Razor to the benefit of mistakes, the 90% rule to avoiding 'deepitites', this entertaining guide will enable you to tackle life's most fundamental questions - evolution, meaning, consciousness and free will - and teach you to think truly independently and creatively. 
 
Daniel Dennett is one of the most original and provocative thinkers in the world. A brilliant polemicist and philosopher, he is famous for challenging unexamined orthodoxies. His books include Brainstorms, Brainchildren, Elbow Room, Consciousness Explained, Darwin's Dangerous Idea and Freedom Evolves. He lives in North Andover, Massachusetts. 
 
'One of the world's most original and provocative thinkers' Daily Telegraph 
 
'A master class' Guardian 
 
'Intelligence, insight and flair ... They don't come much bigger than Daniel Dennett' Julian Baggini, Guardian 
 
'A philosopher's box of tools for the musing mind' Melvin Konner, Nature 
 
'You'll enjoy and be challenged by it'Steven Rose, Guardian'A lively primer on the radical answers Mr. Dennett has elaborated to the big questions in his nearly five decades in philosophy' Jennifer Schuessler, The New York Times 
 
'America's most important and entertaining philosopher' Observer

One of the world's most original and provocative thinkers

Daniel C. Dennett was University Professor Emeritus at Tufts University and the author of numerous books including From Bacteria to Bach and Back, Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking, Breaking the Spell, Darwin's Dangerous Idea, and Consciousness Explained. He died on 19 April 2024.

Religion as a Natural Phenomenon

Breaking the Spell

The world's most widely read and influential philosopher takes on religion

In Breaking the Spell Daniel C. Dennett explores how the great ideas of religion have enthralled us for thousands of years - and whether we could (or should) break free. 
 
 What is religion and how did it evolve? Is it the product of blind evolutionary instinct or of rational choice? Is the only way to live a good life through religion? 
 
 Few forces in the world are as potent as religion: it comforts people in their suffering and inspires them to both magnificent and terrible deeds. In this provocative and timely book, Daniel C. Dennett seeks to uncover the origins of religion and discusses how and why different faiths have shaped so many lives, whether religion is an addiction or a genuine human need, and even whether it is good for our health. Arguing passionately for the need to understand this multifaceted phenomenon, Breaking the Spell offers a truly original - and comprehensive - explanation for faith. 
 
 'Packed with a mass of intriguing detail and anecdote ... witty and clear prose' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Observer 
 
 'He's the "good cop" among religion's critics (Richard Dawkins is the "bad cop"), but he still makes people angry' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;New Statesman 
 
 'Dennett writes with brio and humour' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Telegraph 
 
 'Elegant, sharp-minded ... clear-eyed but courteous' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Economist 
 
 Daniel Dennett is one of the most original and provocative thinkers in the world. A brilliant polemicist and philosopher, he is famous for challenging unexamined orthodoxies, and an outspoken supporter of the Brights movement. His books include Brainstorms, Brainchildren, Elbow Room, Consciousness Explained, Darwin's Dangerous Idea and Freedom Evolves.

Daniel Dennett is one of the most original and provocative thinkers in the world. A brilliant polemicist and philosopher, he is famous for challenging unexamined orthodoxies. His books include Brainstorms, Brainchildren, Elbow Room, Consciousness Explained, Darwin&rsquo;s Dangerous Idea and Freedom Evolves. He lives in North Andover, Massachusetts.

Few forces in the world are as potent as religion: it comforts people in their suffering and inspires them to both magnificent and terrible deeds. In this provocative and timely book, Daniel C. Dennett seeks to uncover the origins of religion and discusses how and why different faiths have shaped so many lives, whether religion is an addiction or a genuine human need, and even whether it is good for our health. Arguing passionately for the need to understand this multifaceted phenomenon, Breaking the Spell offers a truly original &ndash; and comprehensive &ndash; explanation for faith.

Freedom Evolves

Dennett is probably the world's most widely read and influential philosopher

Daniel C. Dennett's Freedom Evolves tackles the most important question of human existence - is there really such a thing as free will? 
 
 How can humans make genuinely independent choices if we are just a cluster of cells and genes in a world determined by scientific laws? 
 
 Here, Daniel Dennett provides an impassioned defense of free will. But rather than freedom being an eternal, unchanging condition of our existence, in reality, he reveals, it has evolved: just like life on the planet and the air we breathe. Evolution is the key to resolving this greatest of philosophical questions - and to understanding our place in the world as uniquely free agents. 
 
 Dennett shows that far from there being an incompatibility between contemporary science and the traditional vision of freedom and morality, it is only recently that science has advanced to the point where we can see how we came to have our unique kind of freedom. 
 
 'A serious book with a brilliant message' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Matt Ridley, author of The Red Queen 
 
 'Powerful and ingenious ... The definitive argument that the human mind is a product of evolution' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;John Gray, Independent 
 
 'A book of sparkling brio and seemingly effortless panache ... Dennett at his best is as good as it gets' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Spectator 
 
 Daniel C. Dennett is one of the most original and provocative thinkers in the world. A brilliant polemicist and philosopher, he is famous for challenging unexamined orthodoxies, and an outspoken supporter of the Brights movement. His books include Brainstorms, Brainchildren, Elbow Room, Breaking the Spell, Darwin's Dangerous Idea and Freedom Evolves.

Dennett is the author of Brainstorms, Brainchildren, Elbow Room, Consciousness Explained and Darwin's DangerouS Idea. He is currently the Distinguished Arts and Sciences Professor and Director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University.He lives in North Andover, Massachusetts.

Dennett shows that human freedom is not an illusion; it is an objective phenomenon, distinct from all other biological conditions and found in only one species - us. There was a time on this planet when it didn't exist, quite recently in fact. It had to evolve like every other feature of the biosphere, and it continues to evolve today. 
 
Dennett shows that far from there being an incompatibility between contemporary science and the traditional vision of freedom and morality, it is only recently that science has advanced to the point where we can see how we came to have our unique kind of freedom.

Evolution and the Meanings of Life

Darwin's Dangerous Idea

In Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life Daniel C. Dennett argues that the theory of evolution can demystify the miracles of life without devaluing our most cherished beliefs. 
 
 From the moment it first appeared, Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection has been controversial: misrepresented, abused, denied and fiercely debated. In this powerful defence of Darwin, Daniel C. Dennett explores every aspect of evolutionary thinking to show why it is so fundamental to our existence, and why it affirms - not threatens - our convictions about the meaning of life. 
 
 'Essential and pleasurable for any thinking person' 
Stephen Pinker 
 
 'A surpassingly brilliant book. Where creative, it lifts the reader to new intellectual heights. Where critical, it is devastating' 
Richard Dawkins 
 
 'A brilliant piece of persuasion, excitingly argued and compulsively readable' 
The Times Higher Education Supplement 
 
 'Superb ... This is the best single-author overview of all the implications of evolution by natural selection available ... deserves a place on the bookshelves of every thinking person' 
John Gribbin, Sunday Times 
 
 'Dennett's book brings together science and philosophy with wit, complex clarity and an infectious sense that these ideas matter, to us and the way we live now' 
A.S. Byatt, Sunday Times Books of the Year 
 
 Daniel C. Dennett is one of the most original and provocative thinkers in the world. A brilliant polemicist and philosopher, he is famous for challenging unexamined orthodoxies, and an outspoken supporter of the Brights movement. His books include Brainstorms, Brainchildren, Elbow Room, Breaking the Spell, Darwin's Dangerous Idea, Consciousness Explained and Freedom Evolves.

Daniel Dennett is the author of Brainstorms, Brainchildren, Elbow Room, Consciousness Explained and Darwin's Dangerous Idea. He is currently the Distinguished Arts and Sciences Professor and Director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University. He lives in North Andover, Massachusetts.

This work assesses Darwin's theory of evolution and looks at why it arises such heated debate among scientists, philosophers and sociologists. The book aims to show that Darwinism does not devalue the miracles of life.

Consciousness Explained

In Consciousness Explained, Daniel C. Dennett reveals the secrets of one of the last remaining mysteries of the universe: the human brain. 
 
Daniel C. Dennett's now-classic book blends philosophy, psychology and neuroscience - with the aid of numerous examples and thought-experiments - to explore how consciousness has evolved, and how a modern understanding of the human mind is radically different from conventional explanations of consciousness. 
 
What people think of as the stream of consciousness is not a single, unified sequence, the author argues, but 'multiple drafts' of reality composed by a computer-like 'virtual machine'. Dennett explains how science has exploded the classic mysteries of consciousness: the nature of introspection, the self or ego and its relation to thoughts and sensations, the problems posed by qualia, and the level of consciousness of non-human creatures. 
 
 'Brilliant ... a torrent of stimulating thought' Richard Dawkins 
 
 'Revolutionary ... one of the most mentally agile, intellectually resourceful books you are likely to read' Guardian 
 
 'A masterful tapestry of deep insights ... Dennett has written a profound and important book that is also clear, exciting and witty' Douglas R. Hofstadter, author of Gödel, Escher, Bach

This book revises the traditional view of consciousness by claiming that Cartesianism and Descartes' dualism of mind and body should be replaced with theories from the realms of neuroscience, psychology and artificial intelligence. What people think of as the stream of consciousness is not a single, unified sequence, the author argues, but &quot;multiple drafts&quot; of reality composed by a computer-like &quot;virtual machine&quot;. Dennett considers how consciousness could have evolved in human beings and confronts the classic mysteries of consciousness: the nature of introspection, the self or ego and its relation to thoughts and sensations, and the level of consciousness of non-human creatures.

Daniel C. Dennett

We are lucky that Dennett exists ... This is a generous book written by a figure who has made a significant impact on philosophy ... Anyone interested in philosophy should read it and consider how he achieved his distinctive voice.

How unfair for one man to be blessed with such a torrent of stimulating thoughts. Stimulating is an understatement.

Unlike traditional philosophers, Daniel Dennett is a student of neuroscience, linguistics, artificial intelligence, computer science, and psychology. He's redefining and reforming the role of the philosopher.

Dennett has earned his reputation as one of today's most readable, intellectually nimble and scientifically literate philosophers.

There seems to be no stopping Daniel Dennett. He has played a major role in integrating philosophy of mind with cognitive science, and his ideas have been widely discussed for decades... He is always fun to read. He has few equals at explaining complex topics, and his positive theories are never boring.

Dennett is the mild-mannered super wizard of philosophical brainstorms.

At 81 he has lost none of his sense of wonder ... refreshingly gossipy and unfiltered.

Daniel C. Dennett

Praise for I've Been Thinking

We are lucky that Dennett exists ... This is a generous book written by a figure who has made a significant impact on philosophy ... Anyone interested in philosophy should read it and consider how he achieved hi ...

How unfair for one man to be blessed with such a torrent of stimulating thoughts. Stimulating is an understatement.

Unlike traditional philosophers, Daniel Dennett is a student of neuroscience, linguistics, artificial intelligence, computer science, and psychology. He's redefining and reforming the role of the philosopher.

We are lucky that Dennett exists ... This is a generous book written by a figure who has made a significant impact on philosophy ... Anyone interested in philosophy should read it and consider how he achieved hi ...

How unfair for one man to be blessed with such a torrent of stimulating thoughts. Stimulating is an understatement.

Unlike traditional philosophers, Daniel Dennett is a student of neuroscience, linguistics, artificial intelligence, computer science, and psychology. He's redefining and reforming the role of the philosopher.

We are lucky that Dennett exists ... This is a generous book written by a figure who has made a significant impact on philosophy ... Anyone interested in philosophy should read it and consider how he achieved hi ...

How unfair for one man to be blessed with such a torrent of stimulating thoughts. Stimulating is an understatement.

Unlike traditional philosophers, Daniel Dennett is a student of neuroscience, linguistics, artificial intelligence, computer science, and psychology. He's redefining and reforming the role of the philosopher.

Books by Daniel C. Dennett

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