Guide Note

Dan Dennett, born in 1942, is an American philosopher and noted atheist. His primary focuses include philosophy of the mind, science and biology and how they relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science. He is also an advocate of Memetics.

Fast Facts

1. Born: March 28, 1942 in Boston, Massachusetts
2. School/Tradition: Analytic Philosophy
3. Director: Center for Cognitive Studies, Tufts
4. Language: English
5. Key Subjects: Philosophy of mind, Philosophy of biology and Philosophy of science
6. Influenced: Douglas Hofstadter, Geoffrey Miller and Richard Dawkins
7. Advocate of the Brights Movement
8. Claims to have introduced first frisbee to U.K.

Major Works

1. Brainstorms: Philosophical Essays on Mind and Psychology - Published in 1981
2. Elbow Room: The Varieties of Free Will Worth Wanting - Published in 1984
3. Consciousness Explained - Published in 1991
4. Freedom Evolves - Published in 2003
5. Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon - Published in 2006

Quotes

1. "I think many people are terribly afraid of being demoted by the Darwinian scheme from the role of authors and creators in their own right into being just places where things happen in the universe." — Dan Dennett on the Darwinian scheme
2. "In the long run I certainly hope information is the cure for fanaticism, but I am afraid information is more the cause than the cure." — Dan Dennett on fanaticism
3. "The problem is that no ethical system has ever achieved consensus. Ethical systems are completely unlike mathematics or science. This is a source of concern." — Dan Dennett on ethical systems

Dennett has contributed several ideas to the field of philosophy of the mind, which include Heterophenomenology, Intentional stance, Intuition pump, Multiple Drafts Model and Greedy reductionism.

Dennett has also inspired the likes of Richard Dawkins and evolutionary psychologist, Gregory Miller.