Citizendia

Western Philosophy
21st-century philosophy
Name
Daniel Dennett
BirthMarch 28, 1942 (1942-03-28) (age 66)
School/traditionAnalytic philosophy
Main interestsPhilosophy of mind
Philosophy of biology
Philosophy of science
Notable ideasHeterophenomenology
Intentional stance
Intuition pump
Multiple Drafts Model
Greedy reductionism
Influenced byGilbert Ryle · W.V.O. Quine
L. Wittgenstein · Charles Darwin  · David Hume  · Alan Turing · Richard Dawkins
InfluencedRichard Dawkins  · Douglas Hofstadter  · Geoffrey Miller

Daniel Clement Dennett (born March 28, 1942 in Boston, Massachusetts) is a prominent American philosopher whose research centers on philosophy of mind, philosophy of science and philosophy of biology, particularly as those fields relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science. Western philosophy is a term that refers to philosophical thinking in the Western or Occidental world, as distinct from Eastern or Oriental philosophies See also [[Analytic philosophy]] and [[Continental philosophy]] Contemporary philosophy is the period in the history of philosophy that began at the end of the nineteenth Events 37 - Roman Emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Analytic philosophy (sometimes analytical philosophy) is a generic term for a style of Philosophy that came to dominate English-speaking countries in the 20th century Philosophy of mind is the branch of Philosophy that studies the nature of the Mind, Mental events Mental functions mental properties The philosophy of biology is a subfield of Philosophy of science, which deals with epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical issues in the biological Philosophy of science is the study of assumptions foundations and implications of Science. Heterophenomenology (" Phenomenology of another not oneself" is a term coined by Daniel Dennett to describe an explicitly third-person scientific The intentional stance is a theory of mental content proposed by Daniel C An intuition pump is a term coined by Daniel Dennett for a Thought experiment structured to elicit intuitive answers about a problem Daniel Dennett 's Multiple Drafts Model of Consciousness is a physicalist theory of Consciousness based upon cognitivism, which views the mind Greedy reductionism is a term coined by Daniel Dennett, in the book Darwin's Dangerous Idea, to distinguish between what he considers acceptable and erroneous Gilbert Ryle ( 19 August 1900 - 6 October 1976) was a British Philosopher, and a representative of the generation of Willard Van Orman Quine (June 25 1908 Akron, Ohio &ndash December 25 2000 (known to intimates as "Van" Charles Robert Darwin (February 12 1809 &ndash April 19 1882 was an English naturalist, who realised and demonstrated that all Species of life David Hume (26 April 1711 25 August 1776 Scottish Philosopher, Economist, and Historian is an important figure in Western philosophy Alan Mathison Turing, OBE, FRS (ˈt(jʊ(ərɪŋ (23 June 1912 &ndash 7 June 1954 was an English Mathematician Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL (born 26 March 1941 is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and Popular science Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL (born 26 March 1941 is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and Popular science Douglas Richard Hofstadter (born February 15 1945 in New York New York) is an American academic whose research focuses on consciousness thinking and creativity Geoffrey Miller (born 1965 is an American Evolutionary psychologist; his work is in the tradition of Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Steven Pinker Events 37 - Roman Emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ( is a state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language Philosophy of mind is the branch of Philosophy that studies the nature of the Mind, Mental events Mental functions mental properties Philosophy of science is the study of assumptions foundations and implications of Science. The philosophy of biology is a subfield of Philosophy of science, which deals with epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical issues in the biological Evolutionary biology is a sub-field of Biology concerned with the origin of Species from a Common descent, and Descent of species Cognitive science may be broadly defined as the multidisciplinary study of mind and behavior He is currently the Co-Director of the Center for Cognitive Studies and the Austin B. The Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University is a research unit for various research projects in Cognitive studies. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University. Dennett is also a noted atheist and advocate of the Brights movement. Atheism

Contents

Biography

Dennett spent part of his childhood in Beirut, where, during World War II, his father, a counter-intelligence agent with the Office of Strategic Services, had a cover job at the American Legation. Beirut (بيروت Bayrūt) is the Capital and Largest city of Lebanon with a population of over 2 World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Office of Strategic Services ( OSS) was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. The young Dennett and family returned to Massachusetts in 1947 after his father died in an unexplained plane crash. [1]

He attended Phillips Exeter Academy, and received his B.A. in philosophy from Harvard University in 1963, where he was a student of W.V. Quine. Phillips Exeter Academy (also called Exeter, Phillips Exeter or PEA) is a Co-educational independent Boarding school for grades 9–12 Willard Van Orman Quine (June 25 1908 Akron, Ohio &ndash December 25 2000 (known to intimates as "Van" In 1965, he received his D.Phil. in philosophy from Christ Church, Oxford, where he studied under the ordinary language philosopher Gilbert Ryle. "PhD" redirects here for other uses see PhD (disambiguation. Not to be confused with Christchurch, a city in New Zealand. Christ Church (Ædes Christi the temple or house of Christ and thus sometimes known as Gilbert Ryle ( 19 August 1900 - 6 October 1976) was a British Philosopher, and a representative of the generation of While at Oxford, Dennett has claimed,[2] he introduced the first frisbee to the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Dennett is currently (May 2007) the Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy, University Professor, and Co-Director of the Center for Cognitive Studies (with Ray Jackendoff) at Tufts University. Ray Jackendoff (born January 23, 1945) is an American Linguist.

Dennett describes himself as "an autodidact — or, more properly, the beneficiary of hundreds of hours of informal tutorials on all the fields that interest me, from some of the world's leading scientists. Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) is self-education or self-directed learning "[3]

Daniel Dennett in Tahiti in 1984
Daniel Dennett in Tahiti in 1984

Dennett gave the John Locke lectures at the University of Oxford in 1983, the Gavin David Young Lectures at Adelaide, Australia, in 1985, and the Tanner Lecture at Michigan in 1986, among many others. Tahiti is the largest Island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the Archipelago of Society Islands in the The John Locke Lectures are a series of annual lectures in Philosophy given at the University of Oxford. The University of Oxford (informally "Oxford University" or simply "Oxford" located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England is the In 2001 he was awarded the Jean Nicod Prize and gave the Jean Nicod Lectures in Paris. The Jean Nicod Prize is awarded annually in Paris to a leading philosopher of mind or philosophically-oriented cognitive scientist. Jean George Pierre Nicod (c 1893 - 16 February 1924) was a French Philosopher and Logician. He has received two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Fulbright Fellowship, and a Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Studies in Behavioral Science. The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of grants for international educational exchange for scholars educators graduate He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1987. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS is an organization dedicated to scholarship and the advancement of learning He was the co-founder (1985) and co-director of the Curricular Software Studio at Tufts University, and has helped to design museum exhibits on computers for the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Science in Boston, and the Computer Museum in Boston. The Smithsonian Institution (smɪθsoʊnɪən is an educational and research institute and associated Museum complex administered and funded by the Government of He is a Humanist Laureate of the International Academy of Humanism and a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. The Council for Secular Humanism (originally the Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism, or CODESH) is a secular humanist organization headquartered The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry ( CSI) formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal ( CSICOP) is a He is also an avid sailor. Sailing is the art of controlling a Sailing vessel. By changing the Rigging, Rudder and dagger or centre board a Sailor manages the force

In October 2006, Dennett was hospitalized due to an aortic dissection. After a nine-hour surgery, he was given a new aorta. In an essay posted on the Edge website, Dennett gives his firsthand account of his health problems, his consequent feelings of gratitude towards the scientists and doctors whose hard work made his recovery possible, and his complete lack of a "deathbed conversion". Overview of Organizations named Edge Foundation There are three organizations named The Edge Foundation The Edge Foundation (www A deathbed conversion is the adoption of a particular Religious Faith shortly before dying [4]

He lives with his wife in North Andover, Massachusetts, and has a daughter, a son, and two grandsons. [5]

Philosophical views

Dennett has remarked in several places (such as "Self-portrait", in Brainchildren) that his overall philosophical project has remained largely the same since his time at Oxford. He is primarily concerned with providing a philosophy of mind that is grounded in empirical research. Philosophy of mind is the branch of Philosophy that studies the nature of the Mind, Mental events Mental functions mental properties A central concept in Science and the Scientific method is that all Evidence must be empirical, or empirically based that is dependent on evidence In his original dissertation, Content and Consciousness, he broke up the problem of explaining the mind into the need for a theory of content and for a theory of consciousness. A dissertation (also called thesis or disquisition) is a document that presents the author's Research and findings and is submitted in support of candidature His approach to this project has also stayed true to this distinction. Just as Content and Consciousness has a bipartite structure, he similarly divided Brainstorms into two sections. He would later collect several essays on content in The Intentional Stance and synthesize his views on consciousness into a unified theory in Consciousness Explained. Consciousness Explained (published 1991) is a Book by the American Philosopher Daniel Dennett which offers an account These volumes respectively form the most extensive development of his views, and he frequently refers to them in subsequent writings. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

In Consciousness Explained, Dennett's interest in the ability of evolution to explain some of the content-producing features of consciousness is already apparent, and this has since become an integral part of his program. He defends a theory known by some as Neural Darwinism. Neural Darwinism, a large scale theory of brain function by Gerald Edelman, was initially published in 1978 in a book called The Mindful Brain (MIT Press He also presents an argument against qualia; he argues that the concept is so confused that it cannot be put to any use or understood in any non-contradictory way, and therefore does not constitute a valid refutation of physicalism. " Qualia " (ˈkwɑːliə is "an unfamiliar term for something that could not be more familiar to each of us the ways things seem to us" Physicalism is a philosophical position holding that everything which exists is no more extensive than its Physical properties; that is that there are no kinds of things other Much of Dennett's work in the 1990s has been concerned with fleshing out his previous ideas by addressing the same topics from an evolutionary standpoint, from what distinguishes human minds from animal minds (Kinds of Minds), to how free will is compatible with a naturalist view of the world (Freedom Evolves). Freedom Evolves is a 2003 popular science and philosophy book by Daniel C His most recent book, Breaking the Spell, is an attempt to subject religious belief to the same treatment, explaining possible evolutionary reasons for the phenomenon of religious adherence. Breaking the Spell Religion as a Natural Phenomenon is a 2006 book by the American Philosopher Daniel Dennett, which argues

Dennett self-identifies with a few terms:

[Others] note that my 'avoidance of the standard philosophical terminology for discussing such matters' often creates problems for me; philosophers have a hard time figuring out what I am saying and what I am denying. My refusal to play ball with my colleagues is deliberate, of course, since I view the standard philosophical terminology as worse than useless — a major obstacle to progress since it consists of so many errors.

– Daniel Dennett, The Message is: There is no Medium

Yet, in Consciousness Explained, he admits "I am a sort of 'teleofunctionalist', of course, perhaps the original teleofunctionalist'". Functionalism is a theory of the mind in contemporary Philosophy, developed largely as an alternative to both the Identity theory of mind and Behaviourism He goes on to say, "I am ready to come out of the closet as a sort of verificationalist". A verificationist is someone who adheres to the verification principle proposed by A In Breaking the Spell he admits to being "a bright", and defends the term on several occasions. Breaking the Spell Religion as a Natural Phenomenon is a 2006 book by the American Philosopher Daniel Dennett, which argues A "qualophile" is Dennett's nickname for any philosopher who believes in the reality of qualia. " Qualia " (ˈkwɑːliə is "an unfamiliar term for something that could not be more familiar to each of us the ways things seem to us" [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]

Role in evolutionary debate

Dennett's views on evolution are identified as being strongly adaptationist, in line with the views of ethologist Richard Dawkins. Adaptationism is a set of methods in the evolutionary sciences for distinguishing the products of adaptation from traits that arise through other processes Ethology ( from Greek ἦθος ethos, "character" and λόγος logos, "knowledge") is the scientific study of Animal Clinton Richard Dawkins, FRS, FRSL (born 26 March 1941 is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and Popular science In Darwin's Dangerous Idea, Dennett showed himself even more willing than Dawkins to defend adaptationism in print, devoting an entire chapter to a criticism of the views of paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould. Darwin's Dangerous Idea Evolution and the Meanings of Life ( 1995) is a controversial book by Daniel Dennett which argues that Darwinian Palaeontology redirects here For the Scientific journal, see Palaeontology (journal. Stephen Jay Gould (September 10 1941 &ndash May 20 2002 was a prominent American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science This stems from Gould's long-running public debate with E. O. Wilson and other evolutionary biologists over human sociobiology and its descendant evolutionary psychology, which Gould and Richard Lewontin opposed, but which Dennett advocated, together with Dawkins and Steven Pinker. Edward Osborne Wilson (born June 10, 1929) is an American biologist researcher ( Sociobiology, Biodiversity) theorist ( Sociobiology is a neo-Darwinian and Socialism Synthesis of Scientific disciplines that attempts to explain Social behavior Evolutionary psychology ( EP) attempts to explain mental and psychological traits such as Memory, Perception, Richard Charles "Dick" Lewontin (born March 29, 1929) is an American Evolutionary biologist Steven Arthur Pinker (born September 18 1954 is a prominent Canadian - American experimental psychologist, cognitive scientist, and author [22] Dennett's debate with Gould has led to some backlash from Gould and his supporters, who allege that Dennett overstated his claims and misrepresented Gould's. [23]

Dennett's theories have had a significant influence on the work of evolutionary psychologist, Geoffrey Miller. Geoffrey Miller (born 1965 is an American Evolutionary psychologist; his work is in the tradition of Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Steven Pinker

Dennett has also written about and advocated the notion of memetics. This article is related to the study of self-replicating units of culture not to be confused with Mimetics Memetics is a neo-Darwinian approach

Selected books

See also

References

  1. ^ "The semantic engineer", by Andrew Brown; 17 April 2004
  2. ^ The semantic engineer, Guardian Unlimited Books, April 17 2004
  3. ^ Dennett, Daniel C. Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Consciousness Explained (published 1991) is a Book by the American Philosopher Daniel Dennett which offers an account Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) Darwin's Dangerous Idea Evolution and the Meanings of Life ( 1995) is a controversial book by Daniel Dennett which argues that Darwinian Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Freedom Evolves is a 2003 popular science and philosophy book by Daniel C Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Sweet Dreams Philosophical Obstacles to a Science of Consciousness is a book by the American Philosopher Daniel Dennett based on the text The MIT Press is a University press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT in Cambridge Massachusetts ( USA) Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Breaking the Spell Religion as a Natural Phenomenon is a 2006 book by the American Philosopher Daniel Dennett, which argues Peter Michael Stephan Hacker (born 15 July[[ 939]] in London is a British philosopher John Rogers Searle (born July 31 1932 in Denver Colorado) is an American Philosopher and the Slusser Professor of Philosophy at the University The Atheism Tapes is a 2004 BBC television documentary series presented by Jonathan Miller. In Philosophy of mind, Cartesian materialism is the idea that at some place (or places in the brain there is some set of information that directly corresponds to our conscious Evolutionary psychology of religion is based on the hypothesis that Religious belief can be explained by the evolution of the Human brain. Greedy reductionism is a term coined by Daniel Dennett, in the book Darwin's Dangerous Idea, to distinguish between what he considers acceptable and erroneous Geoffrey Miller (born 1965 is an American Evolutionary psychologist; his work is in the tradition of Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Steven Pinker Heterophenomenology (" Phenomenology of another not oneself" is a term coined by Daniel Dennett to describe an explicitly third-person scientific The intentional stance is a theory of mental content proposed by Daniel C The Jean Nicod Prize is awarded annually in Paris to a leading philosopher of mind or philosophically-oriented cognitive scientist. This article is related to the study of self-replicating units of culture not to be confused with Mimetics Memetics is a neo-Darwinian approach Daniel Dennett 's Multiple Drafts Model of Consciousness is a physicalist theory of Consciousness based upon cognitivism, which views the mind [08 2004] (2005-09-13). "What I Want to Be When I Grow Up", in John Brockman: Curious Minds: How a Child Becomes a Scientist. John Brockman (born 1941 in Boston Massachusetts) is a Literary agent and Author specializing in scientific literature New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 1-4000-7686-2.  
  4. ^ 'Thank Goodness!', edge 195, Nov. 3, 2006
  5. ^ Daniel C. Dennett's Home Page
  6. ^ A Glorious Accident: Understanding Our Place in the Cosmic Puzzle a 1997 PBS documentary and book interviewing 6 leading thinkers, Dennett among them. ISBN 0-7167-3144-4
  7. ^ Dan Dennett: Ants, terrorism, and the awesome power of memes TED, Feb. 2002
  8. ^ 25-minute video response by Dennett's to the claims made in The Purpose Driven Life by Pastor Rick Warren. The Purpose Driven Life (2002 is a devotional book written by Christian author Rick Warren and published by Zondervan. Richard D "Rick" Warren (born January 28, 1954) is the founder and senior pastor of the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest California Presented after a talk by Warren at the TED Conference Feb. TED ( Technology Entertainment Design) is an annual conference that defines its mission as "ideas worth spreading" 2003 in Monterey
  9. ^ Pulling Our Own Strings — Reason May 2003
  10. ^ The Third Culture June 21, 2003
  11. ^ The Bright Stuff (2003-07-12). Reason is a libertarian monthly magazine from the Reason Foundation. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre.
  12. ^ Daniel Dennett Recants Atheism? Oct. 14, 2004
  13. ^ The Philosophers Magazine: Philosopher of the Month, April 2003, Dan Dennett
  14. ^ 'The Semantic Engineer' — a biographical essay from The Guardian, April 17, 2004
  15. ^ The Atheism Tapes, program 6, transcript of an extended interview with Dennett for the Jonathan Miller BBC TV series, 2004
  16. ^ Point of Inquiry, March 10, 2006 audio interview on "Breaking the Spell"
  17. ^ Radio interview about Intelligent Design on Philosophy Talk, January 2006
  18. ^ Exchange with philosopher Michael Ruse on science and religion, 21 February 2006
  19. ^ Daniel Dennett interview - Science and Religion, Atheist, Secular Philosophy, Bright Movement March 2006
  20. ^ Interview with Dennett at Monsters and Critics July 2007
  21. ^ 70 minute video interview by Robert Wright, 2007
  22. ^ Although Dennett has expressed criticism of human sociobiology, calling it a form of "greedy reductionism," he is generally sympathetic towards the explanations proposed by evolutionary psychology. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller, CBE (born 21 July 1934) is a British Neurologist, Theatre and Opera director Philosophy Talk is a Talk radio program co-hosted by John Perry and Ken Taylor, who are professors at Stanford Michael Ruse (born June 21, 1940 in Birmingham England) is a philosopher of science working on the philosophy of biology and is well known For the collection of essays by J R R Tolkien, see The Monsters and the Critics Monsters and Critics is one of the larger independent Robert Wright (born 1957 in Lawton Oklahoma) is an American journalist scholar and prize-winning author of best-selling books about science Evolutionary Greedy reductionism is a term coined by Daniel Dennett, in the book Darwin's Dangerous Idea, to distinguish between what he considers acceptable and erroneous Evolutionary psychology ( EP) attempts to explain mental and psychological traits such as Memory, Perception, Gould also is not one sided, and writes: "Sociobiologists have broadened their range of selective stories by invoking concepts of inclusive fitness and kin selection to solve (successfully I think) the vexatious problem of altruism—previously the greatest stumbling block to a Darwinian theory of social behavior. There are a few definitions of Inclusive fitness (IF but one (that according to Oli 2003 is not consistent with W From the time of antiquity field biologists have observed that some organisms tend to exhibit strategies that favor the reproductive success of their relatives even at a cost to their own survival . . . Here sociobiology has had and will continue to have success. And here I wish it well. For it represents an extension of basic Darwinism to a realm where it should apply. " Gould, 1980. "Sociobiology and the Theory of Natural Selection" In G. W. Barlow and J. Silverberg, eds. , Sociobiology: Beyond Nature/Nurture? Boulder CO: Westview Press, pp. 257-269.
  23. ^ 'Evolution: The pleasures of Pluralism' — Stephen Jay Gould's review of Darwin's Dangerous Idea, June 26, 1997

External links

Persondata
NAMEDennett, Daniel
ALTERNATIVE NAMESDennett, Dan
SHORT DESCRIPTIONAmerican philosopher
DATE OF BIRTHMarch 28, 1942 (1942-03-28) (age 66)
PLACE OF BIRTHBoston, Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Events 37 - Roman Emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, entitled to him by the Senate. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
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