Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • Darwin's Dangerous Idea

  • Evolution and the Meanings of Life
  • By: Daniel C. Dennett
  • Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
  • Length: 27 hrs and 4 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (104 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Darwin's Dangerous Idea cover art

Darwin's Dangerous Idea

By: Daniel C. Dennett
Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £29.99

Buy Now for £29.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Consciousness Explained cover art
The History of the Peloponnesian War cover art
Welcome to the Universe cover art
The Tragedy of Great Power Politics cover art
Breaking the Spell cover art
From Bacteria to Bach and Back cover art
Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking cover art
Culture and Imperialism cover art
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions cover art
The Selfish Gene cover art
The Blind Watchmaker cover art
How the Mind Works cover art
Smashing Physics cover art
A Brief History of Life in the Middle Ages cover art
Where We Are cover art
Guns, Germs and Steel cover art

Summary

In a book that is both groundbreaking and accessible, Daniel C. Dennett, whom Chet Raymo of The Boston Globe calls "one of the most provocative thinkers on the planet", focuses his unerringly logical mind on the theory of natural selection, showing how Darwin's great idea transforms and illuminates our traditional view of humanity's place in the universe. Dennett vividly describes the theory itself and then extends Darwin's vision with impeccable arguments to their often surprising conclusions, challenging the views of some of the most famous scientists of our day.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2013 Daniel C. Dennett (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Darwin's Dangerous Idea

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    62
  • 4 Stars
    30
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    59
  • 4 Stars
    23
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    54
  • 4 Stars
    22
  • 3 Stars
    9
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not an easy book to remain engaged with

As an evolutionary biologist, I found this book challenging to remain engaged with and the performance did not help the cause.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Educational

I now have a much better understanding of Darwinism. I found it quite technical and hard to absorb in places. Glad I persevered with it as I now feel less ignorant on the subject of Darwinian thinking.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Numersous quotations make for confusing listening!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

A problem listening to this book is the frequency of lengthy quotations Dennett uses to bolster his argument, both at start of sections and within the text. It is often difficult to tell when it is Dennett you are listening to or Dennett lengthily quoting someone else... frustrating!!Also - though a pdf file is available for the figures/diagrams referred to this is not helpful while listening on the move...Still - a classic text and stimulating in parts...

Would you listen to another book narrated by Kevin Stillwell?

I had to listen in at 1.25 speed cos he gets a tad monotonous real-time...

Was Darwin's Dangerous Idea worth the listening time?

I'd already read the book - so was testing out Audible more than Dennett.The former's bang on for me, the latter's sounding a little dated!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
  • D.
  • 15-05-16

Big fan, BUT.

I'm a little gutted this disappoints me.
Yes, I've heard it all before. Richard Dawkins dose it with ease
Was bored all the way through, even though I did make it all the way through.
Best past of the book was the last hour, making a good statement in is own particular style.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Coherent and engaging

Dennett's dialogue remains coherent and engaging when spoken, thanks to excellent structure and generous inclusion of allegory. Stillwell's narrative tone is spot on.

Occasional technical details might be difficult to follow if the listener is not familiar with the vocabulary of biology, but this should not prevent fluent comprehension of the work. The commentary on Gould is a dreary incongruity in an otherwise delightful exposition of Neo-Darwinism.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A brilliant analysis

It is no surprise that Richard Dawkins refers to Dennett as an intellectual uncle. Dennett makes philosophy as relevant as it has ever been.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

incredible

hard work but only there is so much incredible content. dennett has hit the nail on the head

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Dennett is a master, the vocal work was good too.

Daniel Dennett has done it again he never fails to fill his books with thousands of meaningful and thoughtful examples.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

highly recommended to scientists and believers

A long time ago on Dutch television there was a series of interviews with top scientists of different fields culminating in an evening together. Daniel Dennet was among them. I was not ready for his severity and logic then. Listening to this book by Dennet from about the same period I now think I get him. Strict and sometimes harsh to scientists who should know better, but often mild and even benign to others and other ideas with a beautiful and hopeful last chapter. I wish all of us on this planet would listen to him. And yes, mr. Stillwell did a fantastic job in performance this book. I will search for more recent werk now by mr. Dennet.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Panning for gold dust

Always a thrill to see the glint of gold dust in the pan. Its work - but there is nothing like gold dust in the pan.
A deeply thoughtful reminder never to underestimate the progress our culture has made.
These words revisit - with keen, well-honed attention - some of our finest steps into the landscape of understanding.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful