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Book · Nick Lane

Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution

Lane discusses why he included consciousness among the subjects of Life Ascending.

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In the conversation

Caption-matched references in the covered episodes. A mention does not endorse the work’s claims.

1:34:37 · YouTube
Nick Lane: Origin of Life, Evolution, Aliens, Biology, and Consciousness
Lane recalls writing a chapter on consciousness and explains why the book’s premise led him to investigate it. Timing marks the publisher paragraph start; the speech end is unknown.
Listen from 1:34:37 on YouTube (external site)
Lane contrasts proposed accounts of consciousness and argues that subjective feelings require a biological explanation beyond functional intelligence. →
3:18:12 · YouTube
Nick Lane: Origin of Life, Evolution, Aliens, Biology, and Consciousness
Fridman includes Life Ascending in a list of Lane’s books before asking about writing. Timing marks the publisher paragraph start; the speech end is unknown.
Listen from 3:18:12 on YouTube (external site)
Lane discusses writing, quotations and the value of asking basic questions without assuming the audience already shares specialist knowledge. →

Bibliographic sources

Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution — bibliographic reference (external site) — Nick Lane. Checked 2026-10-23.

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