Daniel Dennett

By selenaryork

  • Birth

    Birth
    On March 28, 1942 Daniel Dennett was born to Ruth Marjorie Leck and Daniel Clement Dennett Jr. in Boston, Massachusetts.

  • Married

    Married
    Dennett married Susan Bell in North Andover, Massachusetts.

  • Bachelors

    Bachelors
    In 1963 Daniel Dennett finished his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Harvard University.
    Dennett continued his education in Philosophy.

  • PhD

    PhD
    In 1965 he received his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Oxford.

  • Doctoral to Book

    Doctoral to Book
    In 1969 he published his first book “Content and Conscienous” which originated as his doctoral thesis.

  • Tufts University

    Tufts University
    After leaving his job at the University of California he took a job at Tufts University in 1971.
    He became director of Tufts University’s Center for Cognitive Studies in 1985 (McNeil, 2020).

  • Conscious Explains

    Conscious Explains
    In 1991 Daniel published his book known as "Conscious Explains" that explains how the conscious mind comes from the interactions of the physical and cognitive processes that happen within the brain. It states that consciousness is different between every person and every organism.

  • Darwin's Dangerous Idea

    Darwin's Dangerous Idea
    In 1995 Darwin’s Dangerous Idea was published. The book proposed that Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is dangerous because it projected the idea that human life was different and special from everything else. Human life is not just an algorithm that worked after billions of failed trials but rather a divine design. Morality in humans came from evolution and morality is not natural.

  • Professor of Philosophy

    Professor of Philosophy
    He was appointed Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at Tufts in 2000 (Loatha, 2023).

  • References

    Loatha, G. (2023, June 6). Daniel C. Dennett. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Daniel-C-Dennett Tufts University. (n.d.). Daniel Dennett. Department of Philosophy. https://as.tufts.edu/philosophy/people/faculty/daniel-dennett#:~:text=Phil.,the%20American%20University%20of%20Beirut. McNeil, T. (2020, September 2). Our brains, our selves: Daniel Dennett. Tufts Now. https://now.tufts.edu/2020/09/02/our-brains-our-selves

  • Life Today

    Life Today
    Today Daniel Dennett still lives with his wife, Susan Bell, in North Andover, Massachusetts. They have one son and daughter with five grandchildren. On his free time he enjoys sailing around the coastline.