LIFE /BIOGRAPHY

Daniel C. Dennett
AMERICAN PHILOSOPHER

Daniel Clement Dennett III is an American philosopher, writer, and cognitive scientist whose research
centers on the philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, and philosophy of biology, particularly as those
fields relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science. Wikipedia
Born: 28 March 1942 (age 77 years), Boston, Massachusetts, United
States
Influenced: Richard Dawkins, Douglas Hofstadter, Geoffrey Miller
Education: Hertford College, Oxford (1965), MORE
Influenced by: Richard Dawkins, Charles Darwin, David
Hume, MORE
Quotes
The secret of happiness is: Find something more important than you
are and dedicate your life to it.
There's nothing I like less than bad arguments for a view that I hold
dear.
Philosophers' Syndrome: mistaking a failure of the imagination for an
insight into necessity.

Daniel C. Dennett, in full Daniel Clement Dennett III, by name Dan Dennett, (born March 28,
1942, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.), American naturalist philosopher specializing in the philosophy of
mind. He became a prominent figure in the atheist movement at the beginning of the 21st century.
Dennett’s father was a diplomat and a scholar of Islamic history, and his mother was an editor and
teacher. He received a B.A. in philosophy from Harvard University in 1963 and subsequently pursued
graduate study at the University of Oxford.

His early years were spent in Lebanon, where his father worked as a secret counter intelligence
agent with the Office of Strategic Services. His father passed away when he was 5 years old, and
Daniel returned to Boston along with his mother. He became attracted to the subject matter of
philosophy at the tender age of 11, during a summer camp, and ever since, he was determined to
carve out a career for himself in philosophy. Daniel attended the Phillips Exeter Academy for a
while, and later, enrolled himself at the Wesleyan University for a year. He received his degree in
Bachelors of Arts in philosophy from the Harvard University in 1963. Upon his graduation, Daniel
was admitted to the University of Oxford, where he benefited from the tutelage of Gilbert Ryle.
He was also made a member of Hertford College. In 1965, Dennett received his Ph.D. in
Philosophy.

Dennett began his professional career in 1965, by accepting a teaching position at UC Irvine, he
served here for the next six years. He received a D.Phil. in philosophy in 1965, whereupon he returned
to the United States to teach at the University of California, Irvine. In 1971 he moved to Tufts
University in Medford, Massachusetts, where he was appointed University Professor and became director

Dennett was appointed director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts in 1985. He was elected to
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1987.

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 LIFE /BIOGRAPHY
CONTRIBUTION

 Doctoral thesis his first book, Content and

Consciousness (1969). In addition to his formal philosophical
training,
 Made an autodidactic forays into the fields of artificial
intelligence, neuroscience, and cognitive psychology.
 The mind-body proble .He had become convinced that
only by being informed by science could one have a productive
philosophical debate about the mind and find a solution to the
question of how the mental is related to the physical). His
somewhat unorthodox approach, which reflected
his skepticism of traditional methods of philosophy, cast him as
a radical among his colleagues.
 First book in 1978, entitled “Brainstorms: Philosophical
Essays on Mind and Psychology”, It provides an insight on his theories of artificial
intelligence and consciousness.
 In 1981, he published another remarkable and widely applauded work, entitled ‘The
Mind’s I: Fantasies and Reflection on Self and Soul
 Elbow Room: The Varieties of Free Will Worth Wanting’, dealt with free will and
determinism, entitled ‘.
 ‘Intentional stance’ -describes as the level of abstraction and mental properties we see
while examining the behavior of our objects of observation.
 Three levels of abstraction: The physical stance, the design stance and the intentional
stance.
 . In 1991 Consciousness Explained’ contrasting brain humans and animals, and he sought
to make comparisons. Conducting an analysis on the concept of free will, and its
relationship with naturalistic perspective of the world. The book also shed light on the
multiple drafts model of consciousness
 In 1995, Daniel Dennett presented the world with his greatest single work,
entitled “Darwin’s Dangerous Idea”, which proposes natural selection as a mechanical
and algorithmic process based on the Darwinism theory of evolution. The book was
globally applauded and awarded the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for general non-fiction ,1995
National Book Award
 2003 “Freedom Evolves”, which deals with the concept of free will and moral
responsibilities in relation with consciousness and personhood.
 Dennett include ‘Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon’, ‘Sweet Dreams:
Philosophical Obstacles to a Science of Consciousness’, ‘Neuroscience and Philosophy:
Brain, Mind, and Language’, Science and Religion’, ‘Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for
Thinking’ and ‘Inside Jokes: Using Humor to Reverse-Engineer the Mind’.

..In 2003, Dennett published yet another monumental work, titled Several other phenomenal
contributions by Daniel Dennett has been presented with several awards and honors as a tribute to
his groundbreaking research and academic contributions. He has been awarded a Fulbright
Fellowship, a Fellowship at the Centre for Advanced Studies in Behavioral Science, two
Guggenheim Fellowships and a Fellowship of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. In 2004, the

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 LIFE /BIOGRAPHY

American Humanist Association presented him with the title of the Humanist of the Year. In
addition to that, he is also a proud recipient of a Human Laureate of the International Academy of
Humanism.

In 2010, Dennett’s name was listed in the Honorary Board of distinguished achievers by the
Freedom from Religion Foundation. He awarded the Erasmus Prize for his tireless efforts in
translating the cultural significance of science and technology to the masses. Daniel Dennett is an
ardent atheist and secularist, he is famously known as one of the Four Horsemen of New Atheism.
He also serves the Secular Coalition on the American advisory board.

Books
Consciousness Explained
1991
From Bacteria to Bach and...2017

Darwin's Dangerous Idea

1995

Breaking the Spell: Religion...

2006
Freedom Evolves 2003

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Submitted by : Maiden A. Sarmiento (Ph.D)

Subject : Advanced Philosophy in Religion
Submitted to : Dr. Nerie. - Professor

DANIEL DENNETT 4