-
Brainstorms - 1978
In 1978, Daniel Dennett published "Brainstorms: Philosophical Essays on Mind and Psychology" which is a collection of seventeen different essays that speaks on early achievements of artificial intelligence which helped to develop ideas on theory of the mind, consciousness, and free will. Dennett identifies as a compatibilist, and believes that free will and determinism are able to coexist without being logically incoherent. The significance of this idea of free will is the base line of morality. -
Consciousness Explained - 1991
In 1991 Daniel Dennett published a book called "Consciousness Explained" where he talks about our consciousness stems from the interaction of physical and cognitive processes in our brain. Dennett's views on this subject really set him apart from other philosophers, in the way that he compares our consciousness to an academic paper that is in the hands of multiple people at one time, which he calls the "multiple drafts" theory. Dennett states that our perception is limited, and not very reliable -
Darwin's Dangerous Idea - 1995
In 1995 Dennett published his book "Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meaning of Life" where some of the negatives of the Darwinian Theory are looked at more closely. Dennett states that claiming that minds cannot be reduced to simply an algorithmic process, he also states that natural selection is a blind process. This began a great deal of debate to the general public. I appreciate that Dennett explains how he himself does not understand all of the science behind this ideas on this. -
Breaking the Spell - 2006
A book called "Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon" published in 2006 by Dennett, argues that religion is in need of a scientific analysis. The book is broken down into three parts, asking if science should be studying religion, using tools of evolutionary biology to study theories regarding religion, as well as asking if religion makes us moral or not. Is religion what gives us meaning to life? Dennett gives a great outlook on religion in this book. https://youtu.be/oDMreEH5VPE
