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Born/Early life
At age 11, Dennett was introduced to the idea of philosophy when he attended a summer camp. A camp counselor said to him, "You know what you are, Daniel? You're a philosopher. Every since then, he was determined to carve out a career for himself in philosophy. -
Education
Later in life, Daniel graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1959. He spent one year at Wesleyan University. In 1963, he received his Bachelor of Arts in philosophy at Harvard University. At Harvard University he was a student of W. V. Quine. In 1965, he received his Doctor of Philosophy in philosophy at the University of Oxford, where he studied under Gilbert Ryle and was a member of Hertford College. -
His Work
Daniel is a philosopher, writer and cognitive scientist whose research is based on the philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, philosophy of biology, and fields relate to evolutionary biology. He is best known for his work in cognitive science for his concept of intentional systems, and his multiple models of human consciousness. In dissertation, Content and Consciousness, he broke up the problem of explaining the mind into the need for a theory of content and for a theory of consciousness. -
Books
In 1978, Daniel published his first book that was entitled “Brainstorms: Philosophical Essays on Mind and Psychology." This book is an insight on his theories of artificial intelligence and consciousness. In 1981, he published another remarkable book entitled, ‘The Mind’s I: Fantasies and Reflection on Self and Soul’. After, another book followed that dealt with free will and determinism, entitled ‘Elbow Room: The Varieties of Free Will Worth Wanting.' -
Contributes
His views on evolution are identified as being strongly adaptationist, in line with his theory of the intentional stance, and the evolutionary views of biologist Richard Dawkins. Daniel also sees a danger in AI machines performing an ever-increasing proportion of basic tasks in perception, memory, and algorithmic computation. He believes rather than employing them constructively to challenge and develop the human user's powers of comprehension. -
Achievements- Present
In 2010, Daniel's name was listed in the Honorary Board of distinguished achievers by the Freedom from Religion Foundation. In 2012, he was also awarded the Erasmus Prize for his tireless efforts in translating the cultural significance of science and technology to the masses. With him being an ardent atheist and secularist, he is famously known as one of the Four Horsemen of New Atheism.