# How Do Trillions of Cells Become a Person by Daniel C. Dennett > “How can an aggregation of trillions of selfish, myopic cells discover the unwitting teamwork that turns that dynamic clump into a person who can love, notice, wonder, and keep a promise?” > **— Daniel C. Dennett**, *2018, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT IS THE LAST QUESTION?”* ## Sources and Context - **Direct Edge response and surrounding essay:** [The Last Question](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/27449) — Edge published this exact, continuous passage in its 2018 Annual Question collection, *WHAT IS THE LAST QUESTION?*. The response page preserves the surrounding argument and qualifications. - **Complete local collection index:** [[research/Edge 2018 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2018 Full Quotation Curation]] — retained source-first record for the response cohort and this passage's promotion status. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Consciousness Continuity|Consciousness Continuity]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] - **Article:** [[articles/Mind Uploading and AI — The Host is Reusable and the Person is the Delta|Host Infrastructure Overview]] - **Article:** [[articles/Technologies for Consciousness Mapping and Transfer|Consciousness Mapping and Transfer]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas|Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Consciousness|Consciousness]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Consciousness|Consciousness]] - [[wiki/Philosophy of Mind|Philosophy of Mind]] - [[wiki/Artificial Consciousness|Artificial Consciousness]] - [[wiki/Self-Awareness|Self-Awareness]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “How can an aggregation of trillions of selfish, myopic cells discover the unwitting teamwork that turns that dynamic clump into a person who can love, notice, wonder, and keep a promise?” — Daniel C. Dennett, 2018, Edge Annual Question, “WHAT IS THE LAST QUESTION?” https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-daniel-dennett-trillions-cells-become-person ```