Daniel C. Dennett
From EvoWiki
Daniel Clemont Dennett (born March 28 1942) is Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy and director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University.
Dennett is a prolific writer, with many popular science and philosophy books, focusing primarily on philosophy of mind, elucidating an functionalist theory he calls "Multiple Drafts". The idea, he says, is that consciousness is commonly thought to occur in a single place in the brain, a "Cartesian Theater", where we sit and witness its goings-on. He believes that its more accurately modeled as a multitude of information states, like the multiple drafts (hence the name) of a paper.
He is also known for his insightful and wide reaching looks at evolutionary biology. Dennett has laid waste to theories of group selection, repeatedly leveled arguments against Stephen Jay Gould, and staunchly defended gene selection. Dennett was a student of Willard van Orman Quine and is a close friend of Richard Dawkins and Edward Wilson.
Daniel C. Dennett is also a proponent of Atheism (The belief that God does not exist) and philosophical naturalism (The belief that the supernatural does not exist and all that exists is matter and energy).
[edit] Bibliography
- Content and Consciousness (Routledge 1969; ISBN 0415104319)
- Brainstorms: Philosophical Essays on Mind and Psychology (1978)
- The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul (1981; co-edited with Douglas Hofstadter)
- Elbow Room: The Varieties of Free Will Worth Wanting (OUP 1985; ISBN 0198247907)
- Consciousness Explained (1991)
- Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life (Penguin 1995; ISBN 014016734X)
- Kinds of Minds: The Origins Of Consciousness (Phoenix 1996; ISBN 0753800438)
- Brainchildren: Essays on Designing Minds (MIT 1998; ISBN 0262041669)
- Freedom Evolves (Penguin 2003; ISBN 0140283897)
[edit] External Links
- Dennett's home page at Tufts
- Dennett profile in The Guardian
- Dennett profile at the Edge
- Dennett biog at Wikipedia
- Philosopher's magazine philosopher of the month, April 2003
- PBS interview with Dennett
- Selected quotes at Wikiquote.org
[edit] Online articles
- 2003, Postmodernism and Truth
- 2003, Pulling Our Own Strings, about determinism and free will.
- 2003, The Bright Stuff, about the use of the word "bright" as a noun for those with a naturalistic world view.
