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Lifetime
Daniel Dennett was born in Massachusetts, received his B. A. in philosophy from Harvard in 1963, and his doctorate from University of Oxford in 1965. -
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Notable works 1969-1991
Dennett, Daniel. Content and Consciousness. Humanities Press 1969, 2nd edition, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986. Dennett, Daniel. Brainstorms: Philosophical Essays on Mind and Psychology. Bradford Books, 1978. Dennett, Daniel. Elbow Room: The Varieties of Free Will Worth Wanting. MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 1984. Dennett, Daniel. The Intentional Stance. MIT Press, 1987. Dennett, Daniel. Consciousness Explained. Little, Brown, 1991. -
intentional systems
Dennett’s work focuses on consciousness and intentional systems. In his book 'Brainstorms: Philosophical Essays on Mind and Psychology', he explains, “An intentional system is a system whose behavior can be (at least sometimes) explained and predicted by relying on ascriptions to the system of beliefs and desires (and other intentionally characterized features—what I will call intentions here, meaning to include hopes, fears, intentions, perceptions, expectations, etc.).” -
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Notable works 1995-2006
Dennett, Daniel. Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life. Simon & Schuster, 1995. Dennett, Daniel. Brainchildren: Essays on Designing Minds. 1984-1996 (collection of essays), MIT Press, 1998. Dennett, Daniel. Freedom Evolves. Viking, 2003. Dennett, Daniel. Sweet Dreams: Philosophical Obstacles to a Science of Consciousness. MIT Press, 2005. Dennett, Daniel. Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon. Viking, 2006. -
Breaking the Spell
Dennett's book makes the argument that people are more devoted to ‘faith’ than ‘God”. He views “religious inclinations to be largely a by-product of instinct-driven social phenomena…that the ability to discern intent in fellow humans led people to ascribe intent where none was actually evident, as in the case of creationism.” His religious views harkening back to his philosophical concept of an intentional system.
www.britannica.com/biography/Daniel-C-Dennett. -
The Four Horsemen
In September 2007, Dennett met with, Richard Dawkins, an ethologist and biologist, Sam Harris, a neuroscientists and philosopher and Christopher Hitchens a journalist and author. The men discussed their views on religion and atheism, the two hour conversation was filmed and released under the title of “The Four Horsemen”. -
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Notable works 2007-2013
Dennett, Daniel. Neuroscience and Philosophy: Brain, Mind, and Language. Columbia University Press, 2007.
Dennett, Daniel. Science and Religion. Oxford University Press, 2010.
Dennett, Daniel. Inside Jokes: Using Humor to Reverse-Engineer the Mind. MIT Press, 2011.
Dennett, Daniel. Intuition Pumps And Other Tools for Thinking. W. W. Norton & Company, 2013. -
Awards 2004-2012
In 2004 the American Humanist Association named Dennett Humanist of the Year.
In 2006 the American Academy of Achievement awarded him with the Golden Plate award.
Dennett received the Jean Nicod Prize in 2001, recognizing him as a leading philosopher.
In 2012 he was awarded one of the most distinguished recognitions in Europe, the Eramus Prize for “his ability to translate the cultural significance of science and technology to a broad audience." -
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Notable works 2013-2017
Dennett, Daniel. Caught in the Pulpit: Leaving Belief Behind. Pitchstone Publishing, 2013. Dennett, Daniel. From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds. W. W. Norton & Company, 2017. -
Why Philosophy of Science
