Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking

By: Daniel C. Dennett

Narrated by: Jeff Crawford

Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Over a storied career, Daniel C. Dennett has engaged questions about science and the workings of the mind. His answers have combined rigorous argument with strong empirical grounding. And a lot of fun. Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking offers seventy-seven of Dennett’s most successful “imagination-extenders and focus-holders” meant to guide you through some of life’s most treacherous subject matter: evolution, meaning, mind, and free will.

With patience and wit, Dennett deftly deploys his thinking tools to gain traction on these thorny issues while offering listeners insight into how and why each tool was built. Alongside well-known favorites like Occam’s Razor and reductio ad absurdum lie thrilling descriptions of Dennett’s own creations: Trapped in the Robot Control Room, Beware of the Prime Mammal, and The Wandering Two-Bitser. Ranging across disciplines as diverse as psychology, biology, computer science, and physics, Dennett’s tools embrace in equal measure light-heartedness and accessibility as they welcome uninitiated and seasoned listeners alike.

As always, his goal remains to teach you how to “think reliably and even gracefully about really hard questions.” A sweeping work of intellectual seriousness that’s also studded with impish delights, Intuition Pumps offers intrepid thinkers - in all walks of life - delicious opportunities to explore their pet ideas with new powers.

©2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc. (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A philosopher of rare originality, rigor, and wit.” (Jim Holt, Wall Street Journal)

Wish it had the chapters properly named…

It could be useful for when you want to jump back into it and reflect on some specific topics.

A book everyone should try to understand

This book is a must read for anyone interested in philosophy. A must read for anyone interested in forming good arguments. Anyone who wants to evaluate the arguments of others. Anyone who thinks that free will is a myth. Anyone who thinks that free will is unquestionable.

I'm planning on listening to it several times. it is that good.

very nice

you guys will have to use the go back 30 seconds button if you want to get the must out of this audio book.

tantalizingly informing

Loved it, I laughed, I cried..cried laughing...etc...I can't wait to read more of his work

Loved it, but some philosophy background needed.

The book begins with a quote that says “you can’t do much carpentry with bare hands and you can’t do much thinking with your bare brain.” The first chapter catalogues some “tools” of philosophy designed to help thinking such as reductio ad absurdum, Occam’s Razor, and other useful ones that Dennett and his colleagues have invented more recently. These tools may have originated with philosophers, but they have application outside the world of philosophy and are generally helpful “tools” for critical thinking.

But after this short introduction, Dennett primarily focuses on debates native to academic philosophy. He does so using “intuition pumps,” i.e., thought experiments. Just a fair warning: these are tools for thinking about specific puzzles in academic philosophy. Unlike a concept such as reductio ad absurdum, these intuition pumps really aren’t transportable outside of the specific philosophical puzzles they are designed to explore. So, the book’s title, “Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking,” should have a subtitle: “…about Certain Problems in Academic Philosophy.”

Topics explored include: meaning, evolution, the nature of consciousness/materialism (including extensive discussion of the Chinese room and Mary in the black and white room); and free will. Dennett seems to presume some familiarity with these topics. And, it’s hard to imagine that a reader would really enjoy the discussion without some prior interest or background. As an undergraduate and graduate student (years ago), I read many of the papers Dennett discusses.

This is dense and challenging listening, but well worth the reward -- if it's your thing. I usually have a few audible books going at one time, and I found myself choosing to listen to this one over the others. I did make a conscious effort to avoid listening when distracted or tired because it is more demanding than other audiobooks.

In the wrong hands, I fear this narration could have been trouble, but I cannot say enough good things about this heroic narrator, Jeff Crawford. His voice crackles with intelligence, clarity, and playfulness too. While a lot of that is Dennett shining through, Crawford must share the credit. This is dense stuff, but Crawford never sounds weighted down. When I finished this book, the first thing I did was to look up the other books Crawford has narrated. I'm sad to see he has only narrated a handful of others and nothing else like this.

Great listen, despite the warnings

Thought it was great a a very useful book too, valuable tools for any researcher

My goodness Daniel...

His ability to navigate ideas left me speechless. His views on consciousness are immensely compelling and I find myself entranced in thought over them.

Difficult, but not impossible

I'm not sure if this medium is the best way to absorb all the thick and hairy material in this book. Having said that, there are plenty of moments where the author's attempts to make the content easy to digest hit their mark. This happens just often enough to keep the reader engaged and following along, if only barely.

you need to do some prior reading

this book is excellent IF you have taken an introductory course into philosophy recently. Instead, you could read History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell that in itself is excellent, to prepare your brain.

A bit like parallel parking a train...

Where does Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the top 20
The most challenging.

Which character – as performed by Jeff Crawford – was your favorite?

The author - he is a character

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I did algebra in my head just to relax after reading.

Any additional comments?

Through some un-natural selection I got Dennett’s book and I must say I admire it’s intelligent design.
It is, however, a bit like parallel parking a train….in a blizzard….on a hill. I thought of myself as a philosophic thinker but I renewed my subscription to Mad Magazine because I just realized that my brain never left 5th grade. I’m betting that Dennett’s thoughts actually have measurable mass and gravity and will likely speciate at some point.

This is the most challenging book I’ve read/listened to in recent memory. I don’t know if it would be any easier in material form, as some reviewers have suggested. Considerable portions of the book are devoted to everything that has ever been uttered (plus Dennett’s thoughts) on natural selection. I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that experienced Dennett readers will be using the 30 sec advance button. The 20 or so unfamiliar with Dennett will be using the 30 sec rewind. It’s not a hike, but rather a vertical climb, with one arm asleep (if you’re me).