A Glorious Accident

by Wim Kayzer (Interviewer), Daniel C. Dennett (Interviewee), Freeman Dyson (Interviewee)

At the close of the 20th century, what do we know about why we are here, on this planet, in this universe? To address this and other big questions, journalist Wim Kayzer invited a diverse cast of six of today's great scientific thinkers to discuss, debate, and argue their points. The result was the acclaimed public television series, A Glorious Accident, now edited and available in paperback.

Kayzer interviewed Oliver Sacks, Daniel C. Dennett, Stephen Jay Gould, Rupert Sheldrake, Freeman Dyson, and Stephen Toulmin individually before bringing them together for a roundtable discussion to consider a variety of broad questions, including:

* What is the nature of our consciousness?
* What concepts has our consciousness developed about our temporal existence?
* What will we derive most from our consciousness: knowledge or understanding?
* What were the questions that fascinated you when you were growing up?
* What questions keep you spellbound today?


Stemming from actual conversations, A Glorious Accident is high-spirited and heady, as well as being an important chronicle of what we know and, more important, what we do not.

Genres: Science, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Psychology

306 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Socraticgadfly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would you like to bring to life the scene of Plato's Symposium? Who would you invite in terms of "deep thinkers"?

Well, this book, which is a transcription of interviews from the TV documentary of the same name, will get you started.

Wim Kayzer did his own mid-1990s symposium, interviewing guests individually before bringing them all together, and it's great.

With the likely exception of Rupert Sheldrake, it would be hard to top Wim Kayser's after-dinner philosophical roundtable invitations. And, on Sheldrake, back in the 1990s, he sounded like someone with fresh and thought-provoking ideas, not a philosophical dualist on the borderlands of pseudoscience.

That said, this book is easier to understand if you've seen the video from which the conversation transcripts were made. I saw it air on PBS, which stimulated me to get the book. Later, I then saw the video again.

This indeed is not for beginners; you should have some grounding in cognitive science/philosophy, analytic philosophy, the natural sciences or philosophy of science, preferably at least a bit in more than one of those disciplines.

But, if you do, and want to be mentally challenged at a high level, then definitely read this book. And buy or rent the video, too.

[Brian Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up for a buck in the discount area of some bookstore or other many, many years ago. Thumbed through it and was impressed right away. First that there was a market for this sort of thing in Holland (clearly a bright bunch) and then that someone even thought to write it all down. Basically the book is a series of transcripts from a public television series. Brilliant (no doubt), famous (within certain crowds at least) and sometimes eccentric (crazy?) people ramble on about consciousness (are we really more than a machine and even if we are, can we build a machine that can also exceed its physics?). Sometimes they express their conclusions and sometimes they follow one another down unguided paths without pressure to reach or draw conclusions. They discuss time, philosophy the soul and existence...

I'd never heard of Steven J. Gould before I purchased this but have since purchased several collections of his essays as well as read "Origin of the Species" mainly because he was so enamored with it.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insights into existence and meaning from some of the most intriguing minds of our time: Steven J. Gould, Freeman Dyson, Oliver Sacks et al. Discourse on everthing from ecologic diversity to explanations of what "consciousness" means... A must read.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best book I've ever read.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

WAY TOO brainy for me. Kayzer pulls together a bunch of the brainiest people alive and they blow the top off all forms of common understandings. If my brain had a pecker - and it does - this book shrunk it.

[Jesse Winslow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although sometimes dry as interviews can be, this book was a fascinating read. 6 super brains, all with a unique perspective on our existence are interviews, and then put into a roundtable discussion. It all works out in the end and everyone survives. Good book.

[Valerie]

Ok, I haven't actually read the book. I saw the PBS series. Not sure how well the book transcribed the show, but the show was worth seeing, and it would be handy to have the book for reference.