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Daniel Dennett Born & Video
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Consciousness Explained
Mr. Dennett wrote this book in which he detailed his take on how the brain works and how it relates to the conscience within it. He suggests that consciousness is derived from both physical and cognitive experiences over a long period of time and not just acquired of the course of a singular event in life. Dennett also put forth the idea of the Multiple Drafts model. -
Breaking the Spell
In this published novel, Daniel Dennett shows his atheist views and dives into the debate of science versus religion. In it, he questions if science even should study religion, to which he answers yes. He then elaborates on the origin of religion in scientific terms and asks questions such as, "Does religion make us moral?" and "Does religion give us meaning in life?"
This book and other lectures/writings led to him becoming a part of the group so-called Four Horsemen of the New Atheism. -
From Bacteria to Bach and Back
Dennett built on the ideas and concepts put forth by Charles Darwin and Rene Descartes. In this book he brings forth the concept that the human conscience could have come into existence through natural selection and that it was from the experiences of life that this conscience (though it may not have known at the time) is molded by. -
Dennett on AI
During this interview, Dennett was asked about artificial intelligence (AI) and whether or not it could gain consciousness. To this he replied, "I think it’s absolutely possible that we can have conscious robots—conscious AI, but I don’t think it’s desirable. We don’t need artificial colleagues, because if we really succeeded, then they would be precisely as autonomous as we are. And we are very dangerous." Dennett brought up an interesting possibility on what a future with AI could look like. -
Citations
Wikipedia Contributors. “Consciousness Explained.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 21 May 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consciousness_Explained. “Daniel C. Dennett | Biography, Books, & Facts | Britannica.” Www.britannica.com, 6 June 2023, www.britannica.com/biography/Daniel-C-Dennett#ref1217535. Accessed 9 July 2023. “Our Brains, Our Selves: Daniel Dennett | Tufts Now.” Now.tufts.edu, 2 Sept. 2020, now.tufts.edu/2020/09/02/our-brains-our-selves.