Daniel Dennett

By kobemoye9

  • Birth & Early life of Daniel Dennett

    Birth & Early life of Daniel Dennett
    Daniel Dennett was born in Boston, Massachusetts on March 28, 1942. He would go on to live abroad with his Father's line of work in Lebanon. Shortly after his Father died in 1947 he and his mother came back to the States where he would go on to meet a counselor at summer camp at age 11, where he would be first introduced to philosophy after being told, "You know what you are Daniel? You're a philosopher." by the counselor.

  • College Education

    Daniel graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1959, where he attended a year at Wesleyan University before graduating with a B.A. of Philosophy from Harvard University in 1963 as a student of famed philosopher W.V. Quinne. He ultimately graduated from Oxford University in 1965 with a Doctor of Philosophy.

  • First Major Work

    In 1991 Daniel wrote a book named, Consciousness Explained. In his writings, he details how consciousness emerges from the physical and cognitive processes of the brain. He birthed the idea of the "Multiple Drafts Theory" of consciousness and describes how our perception is less reliable and more limited than previously thought. This work opposed the more historically accepted theory of consciousness being described by qualia. Critics claim he is denying the subjective nature of consciousness.

  • Atheistic Philosophy

    Perhaps what Daniel is most known for is his stance on religion. Daniel is an outspoken atheist and most of his later work (Darwin's Dangerous Idea in 1995 & Breaking the Spell in 2006). He outlines his theory of morality evolving alongside the process of Human evolution and tries to rationalize naturalistically why Humans adopted religious beliefs. He is also known for calling himself "Bright". Which comes from a 2003 social movement advancing the worldview of philosophical naturalism.

  • References

    "Daniel Dennett." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Jan. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Dennett. Accessed 1 Feb. 2024. Taylor, James E. "The New Atheists". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. "Daniel Dennett". Scientific American Frontiers. PBS. Archived from the original on January 24, 2001. http://www.pbs.org/saf/1103/features/dennett.htm