Book cover of I've Been Thinking

Book description

Daniel C. Dennett, preeminent philosopher and cognitive scientist, has spent his career considering the thorniest, most fundamental mysteries of the mind. Do we have free will? What is consciousness and how did it come about? What distinguishes human minds from the minds of animals? Dennett's answers have profoundly shaped our…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked I've Been Thinking as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I was lucky enough to be sent a pre-publication copy of the book by the publisher. I loved it. It is part autobiography, part intellectual history, by one of the great minds of the twentieth/twenty-first century.

It tells the story of Dennett’s life (so far) and of his own intellectual journey. Personally, his early work was instrumental in luring me away from the traditional sort of arm-chair philosophy I had been trained in. What I hadn’t realized is quite what a polymath he is: musician, sculptor, philosopher, as well as a cognitive scientist.

If you love I've Been Thinking...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Want books like I've Been Thinking?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 7 books like I've Been Thinking.

Browse books like I've Been Thinking

Book cover of What Is the Name of This Book?: The Riddle of Dracula and Other Logical Puzzles
Book cover of True Names
Book cover of Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,366

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like I've Been Thinking, you might also like...

Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

The Duke's Christmas Redemption by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.

Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…

Book cover of Coyote Weather

Coyote Weather by Amanda Cockrell,

Coyote weather is the feral, hungry season, drought-stricken, and ready to catch fire. It’s 1967, and the American culture is violently remaking itself while the country is forcibly sending its young men to fight in a deeply unpopular war.

Jerry has stubbornly made no plans for the future because he…

5 book lists we think you will like!