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Birth
Daniel Clement Dennett III is born to Ruth Marjorie (née Leck; 1903–1971) and Daniel Clement Dennett Jr. (1910–1947) in Boston, MA -
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Educating the Great Machine
Dennett graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1959, and went on to continue schooling at Wesleyan University, though for only one year. He continued school, but transferred to Harvard University where he graduated with his Bachelors of Arts in Philosophy. He then went on to get his Doctorate in Philosophy from the prestigious University of Oxford, studying under Gilbert Riles and maintained a membership with the Hertford College. -
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Expansion of Influence - Teaching
Upon returning to the United States after receiving his D.Phil.*, Dennett went on to teach at the University of California, Irvine. In 1971, however, he left the University of California to go back to Massachusetts. He joined the Tufts University teaching staff and was appointed as professor in addition to being made department head on Cognitive Studies. In 2000, he was appointed Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at Tufts in 2000. -
First Book - Content and Consciousness
During his tenure at the University of California, Irvine - Dennett wrote his first book - Content and Consciousness (1969), a book split into two-parts detailing the language of the mind, as well as what he perceives as consciousness and the rationality of thought and morality. -
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Continuing Educational Expeditions
Dennett, when not teaching, or writing, engages in many autodidactic excursions of the mind to broaden his horizons. He continues to study Artificial Intelligence, Neuroscience, and Cognitive Psychology. His continuous pursuit of knowledge, even knowledge tangentially related to his field, is inspiring in that someone as learned and well-versed as Dennett can continue to search for new and exciting knowledge, then we should all apply the same fervor to our search for knowledge as well. -
The Philosophical Firebrand
With his forays into other points of view, and other fields of study, Dennett has been known as a more radical member of the Philosophy community. He maintains that only through constant education, and devotion to science - can one have a true conversation and understanding of not only the mind, but also what is perceived as the mind-body-problem (how the mental affects the physical). This is widely considered the "X walked, so Y can run" in terms of his unique brand of skeptical philosophy. -
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Artificial Consciousness - Enter COG
Dennet, from 1993 to around 1996, was involved with a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in an attempt to create a machine capable of rational thought, and as an end-state goal, a form of consciousness. This machine was later called COG. -
Robots Piloting Robots
Dennett released his latest work, "From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds". In it, he likens the neurons in our brains to tiny, microscopic robots, piloting (by extension) an even larger robot (us). This is the culmination of Dennett's firebrand personality in the philosophical community, and shows that with a wide breadth of knowledge such as his - it has allowed him to remain ahead of the curve in terms of rational, skeptical thought by using Laymans terms to educate. -