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Born
Born in Boston, Massachusetts. “Daniel C. Dennett,” Tufts University – Center for Cognitive Studies, n.d., https://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/dennett/. Accessed 25 December 2019. -
B.A. in Philosophy
Received his Bachelors of Arts Degree in Philosophy from Harvard. “Daniel C. Dennett,” Tufts University – Center for Cognitive Studies, n.d., https://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/dennett/. Accessed 25 December 2019. -
PhD in Philosophy
Received his Doctorate of Philosophy in Philosophy at Oxford in 1965. “Daniel C. Dennett,” Tufts University – Center for Cognitive Studies, n.d., https://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/dennett/. Accessed 25 December 2019. -
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Taught at U.C. Irvine
Taught at the University of California Irvine for six years, during which he published his first book on consciousness. “Daniel C. Dennett,” Tufts University – Center for Cognitive Studies, n.d., https://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/dennett/. Accessed 25 December 2019. -
Published Content and Consciousness
Published his first book on consciousness, titled Content and Consciousness. “Daniel C. Dennett,” Tufts University – Center for Cognitive Studies, n.d., https://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/dennett/. Accessed 25 December 2019. -
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Taught at Tufts University
Has taught at Tufts University since 1971, while periodically guest lecturing at other institutions and universities such as Harvard, Oxford, the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, the London School of Economics, and the American University of Beirut. “Daniel C. Dennett,” Tufts University – Center for Cognitive Studies, n.d., https://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/dennett/. Accessed 25 December 2019. -
Published Consciousness Explained
Published Consciousness Explained, a best-selling book that attempted to explain the neuroscience of consciousness. To Dennett, consciousness can be equated to a many-layered computer program rather than something metaphysical. Rothman, Joshua. “Daniel Dennett’s Science of the Soul: A philosopher’s lifelong quest to understand the making of the mind.” The New Yorker, 27 March 2017, https://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/dennett/papers/NewYorkerprofile.pdf. Accessed on 25 December 2019 -
TED Talk: The Illusion of Consciousness
Presented a TED Talk on the science of consciousness, common misperceptions of consciousness, and how our consciousness can often mislead us. Link text -
Published from Bacteria to Bach and Bach
Published from Bacteria to Bach and Bach: The Evolution of Minds, a continuation of Consciousness Explained. While many philosophers are dualists, believing that science can only half explain consciousness, Dennett is a physicalist, believing that science can explain consciousness in purely material terms. There is no magic or metaphysics with regards to the neuroscience of consciousness.