Daniel Dennett
Daniel Clement Dennett III (March 28, 1942 – April 19, 2024) was an American philosopher, writer, and cognitive scientist. His research centered on the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of biology, particularly as those fields relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science.
Daniel Dennett | |
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Dennett in 2012 | |
| Born | Daniel Clement Dennett III March 28, 1942 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | April 19, 2024 (aged 82) Portland, Maine, U.S. |
| Education | |
| Notable work |
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| Spouse |
Susan Bell (m. 1962) |
| Awards |
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| Era | 20th-/21st-century philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School |
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| Institutions | Tufts University |
| Thesis | The Mind and the Brain (1965) |
| Doctoral advisor | Gilbert Ryle |
Main interests |
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Notable ideas | Heterophenomenology Intentional stance Intuition pump Multiple drafts model Greedy reductionism Cartesian theater Belief in belief Free-floating rationale Top-down vs bottom-up design Cassette theory of dreams Alternative neurosurgery Sphexishness Brainstorm machine Deepity |
| Signature | |
Dennett was the co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies and the Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University in Massachusetts. Dennett was a member of the editorial board for The Rutherford Journal and a co-founder of The Clergy Project.
A vocal atheist and secularist, Dennett has been described as "one of the most widely read and debated American philosophers". He was referred to as one of the "Four Horsemen" of New Atheism, along with Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens.