D11

Daniel Dennett (March 28 1942- till date)

  • EARLY LIFE

    Dennett was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 28, 1942, to Ruth and Daniel Clement Dennett Jr. Dennett spent part of his childhood in Lebanon, where his father worked for the Office of Strategic Services in Beirut during WWII. His mother returned him to Massachusetts at age five. he was first introduced to the notion of philosophy at age 11, while attending a summer camp when a camp counselor said to him, "You know what you are, Daniel? You're a philosopher.
  • EDUCATION

    Dennett graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1959 and spent one year at Wesleyan University.
  • FAMILY HISTORY

    FAMILY HISTORY
    In 1962, Dennett married Susan Bell. They have a daughter, a son, and five grandchildren and live in North Andover, Massachusetts. Dennett enjoys sailing.
  • EDUCATION

    EDUCATION
    Before receiving his Bachelor of Arts in philosophy at Harvard University in 1963. At Harvard University, he was a student of W. V. Quine.
  • EDUCATION

    In 1965, he received his Doctor of Philosophy in philosophy at the University of Oxford, where he studied under Gilbert Ryle and was a member of Hertford College. His dissertation was entitled The Mind and the Brain.
  • CAREER

    CAREER
    Dennett taught at the University of California, Irvine, from 1965 to 1971, before moving to Tufts University, where he settled for many decades, aside from periods visiting Harvard University and several other schools.
  • PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW

    PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW
    Though he is a confirmed compatibilist on free will, Dennett expressed the case for a two-stage decision-making model compared to libertarian views in "On Giving Libertarians What They Say They Want, chapter 15 of his 1978 book Brainstorms.
    When we are faced with a significant decision, a consideration-generator whose performance is to some degree undetermined generates a set of considerations, some of which may be automatically dismissed as irrelevant by the agent (consciously or unconsciously
  • PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW CONT

    PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW CONT
    Philosophy of the Mind
    Dennett outlines his multiple drafts model of consciousness in Chapter 5 of Consciousness Explained. "All varieties of perception indeed, all varieties of thinking or mental activity—achieved in the brain through parallel, multitrack mechanisms of sensory feedback interpretation and elaboration," he claims. The information that enters the nervous system is constantly being edited. (Page 111). Artificial intelligence
  • HONOUR/ AWARDS

    HONOUR/ AWARDS
    was named Humanist of the Year by the American Humanist Association IN 2004.
    In 2006, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.
    In February 2010, was named to the freedom from religion foundation Honorary Board of distinguished achievers.
    In 2012, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize an annual award for a person who has made an exceptional contribution to European culture, society, social science.
    2018, was awarded an honorary degree by Radboud University
  • CAREER

    He is the Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University and co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies. Dennett is an atheist and secularist who serves on the advisory board of the Secular Coalition for America and the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, as well as being a vocal supporter of the Brights movement. Along with Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and the late Christopher Hitchens, Dennett is known as one of the "Four Horsemen of New Atheism.
  • CONCLUSION

    CONCLUSION
    Daniel Clement Dennett III, is an American philosopher, author, and cognitive scientist whose work focuses on the philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, and philosophy of biology, particularly as they relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science.
    https://youtu.be/c7Ax2BqZo3Y