杰克•鲍温1995年在斯坦福大学取得人类生物学荣誉学士学位，后来在加利福尼亚州立大学长滩分校以优异的成绩取得哲学硕士学位。鲍温曾在迪安萨学院从事了六年的哲学和伦理学教学工作，此后一直在阿瑟顿一所著名的私立高中教授哲学。

"How sure can you be that you,re not dreaming right now?" "Up until now, completely sure," I responded. "Dreams aren,t really anything like reality. Dreams are, well, they,re more dreamy. You can just tell. Things happen in dreams that don,t happen in reality. Usually, anyway." The hero of The Dream Weaver, young Ian Pinkle, encounters a world full of the unknown. With the help of a mentor and a friend or two, he sheds light on some of life's most difficult questions: How do we determine morality? What is the meaning of life? Does God exist? How can we determine Truth? Fairness? What are the mind and soul like? Ian--in his playful, curious manner--addresses these questions in a way that lets readers develop their own answers, and in doing so, he guides the readers through a history of philosophical thought in a clever, conversational and even adventurous style. This allows readers to think for themselves, ask questions themselves--and to be philosophers themselves. Alongside Ian's story are annotations that connect Ian's dilemmas and insights to some of the most renowned thinkers throughout history. Whether Ian is creating universes to explore the apparent paradoxical issues of evil, or playfully addressing (and solving!) the chicken-or-the-egg question, he will provide all readers with both "a ha!" moments and moments that challenge their most firmly rooted foundations. And all the while, there's a nice little surprise waiting at the end.