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Born
Dennett was born on March 28, 1942, in Boston, Massachusetts. -
Content and Consciousness
In 1969, Dennett published his first book, Content and Consciousness based on his doctoral thesis about the nature of consciousness. This book is considered his most notable work and deals with a question that many philosophers have attempted to answer, which is the mind-body problem. Dennett’s attempts to answer this question made him well-known in the community and his book is still one of the most well-known on the subject.(Muñoz-Suárez, C, and De Brigard, D., 2015) -
MIT's Cog project
In 1993, Dennett worked with a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to attempt to construct an intelligent robot. This project Dennett took part in deals with the concept of creating a human-level artificial intelligence (AI). Since this project took place, we have made advancements in AI, but none have been able to truly replicate human intelligence. This YouTube video showcases the robot “Cog” and some of its capabilities: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbZ9_rUZZMA -
Darwin’s Dangerous Idea
Dennett’s book, Darwin’s Dangerous Idea, published in 1995, shared his ideas on how the process of natural selection led to the development of human consciousness. This book written by Dennett builds off the ideas of another famous scientist, Charles Darwin. This book helps to solidify both Darwin’s and Dennett’s ideas because by showing their relationship, it adds more evidence to both theories. (Britannica, 2023) -
The Athiest Movement
Dennett’s work, Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon explained the development of religious ideas and made him one of the leading figures in the atheist movement. Being one of the leaders in the Atheist community was important for both science and philosophy at this time because the movement helps people question the nature of the world and not just accept non-empirical explanations. (Britannica, 2023)