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Who is Daniel Dennett?
He is a philosopher who researched philosophy of the mind, science, and biology. Introduced to philosophy at the early age of eleven he loved the subject so much that he decided to pursue this field in college and his career after. -
Intentional Stance
Dennett believed there were three different approaches we will take when confronted with an object or stance: physical stance, design stance, and the intentional stance. We use these three approaches to predict which leads us to explain the behavior of the subject/object. Amy Kind, Intentional stance- Dictionary of philosophy of mind, 2024 (https://sites.google.com/site/minddict/intentional-stance-the) -
Research Focuses in 1990's
At the beginning of 1990 Dennett started researching the differences between the human mind and animal mind. His work greatly influenced many, in particular Geoffrey Miller. He also focused heavily on free will during this time. He believes that people are morally responsible for their actions as long as said actions do not come from a place of coercion. Daniel Dennett, (Free Will, and the Nefarious Neurosurgeon. Greg Hickey, 2022) https://www.greghickeywrites.com/daniel-dennett-free-will/ -
Consciousness Explained
In 1991 Daniel Dennett published his book "Consciousness Explained" He thought of consciousness as multiple thoughts or calculations running in the brain at the same time. Through this he helped shape an understanding of consciousness. Many people stood behind his theory while others believed he couldn't be further from the truth.
Daniel Dennet's Science of the Soul (Joshua Rothman, The New Yorker, March, 2017. www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/27/daniel-dennetts-science-of-the-soul -
Darwin's Dangerous Idea
In 1995 Dennett published his book "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" In this book he explains why he stands behind Darwin's theory of evolution based off this he takes evolution and gives it an interesting spin. He was up for nomination for the National Book Award in non-fiction and the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction in 1996. Daniel Dennett Biography (TheFamousPeople, https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/daniel-dennett-4718.php)