Daniel Dennett Quotes
Daniel Clement Dennett was an American philosopher of mind, philosopher of biology, and longtime professor at Tufts University. A pupil of Gilbert Ryle, he developed an influential functionalist account of mental phenomena, defended a compatibilist conception of free will, and became a leading philosophical interpreter of evolutionary biology and cognitive science. The quotes below are attributed to Daniel Dennett, organized by topic.
Browse Daniel Dennett by topic
Daniel Dennett on Freedom
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Attributed to Daniel Dennett:
“Free will is real, but it is not what tradition says it is.”
Daniel Dennett on God
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“I think religion for many people is some sort of moral viagra.”
Atheism Tapes, part 6", BBC TV documentation of Jonathan Miller, produced by Richard Denton, recorded 2003, broadcast 2004
Daniel Dennett on Justice
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“We now understand how very complex and even apparently intelligent phenomena, such as genetic coding, the immune system, and low-level visual processing, can be accomplished without a trace of consciousness. But this seems to uncover an enormous puzzle of just what, if anything, consciousness is for. Can a conscious entity do anything for itself that an unconscious (but cleverly wired up) simulation of that entity couldn't do for itself?”
The Evolution of Consciousness," Consciousness and Emotion in Cognitive Science: Conceptual and Empirical Issues (1998) ed. Josefa Toribio & Andy Clark
Daniel Dennett on Knowledge
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Attributed to Daniel Dennett:
“There is no such thing as philosophy-free science; only science whose philosophical baggage is taken on board without examination.”
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“Daniel Dennett in a panel under the title "Can Rationality Be Taught?" at TAM 2014.”
We really have to think of reasoning the way we think of romance, it takes two to tango. There has to be a communication. -
“Atheism Tapes, part 6", BBC TV documentation of Jonathan Miller, produced by Richard Denton, recorded 2003, broadcast 2004”
I think religion for many people is some sort of moral viagra. -
“Atheism Tapes, part 6", BBC TV documentation of Jonathan Miller, produced by Richard Denton, recorded 2003, broadcast 2004”
I was once interviewed in Italy and the headline of the interview the next day was wonderful. I saved this for my collection it was... "YES we have a soul but it's made of lots of tiny robots" and I thought that's exactly right. Yes we have a soul, but it's mechanical. But it's still a soul, it still does the work that the soul was supposed to do. It is the seat of reason. It is the seat of moral -
“Not a single one of the cells that compose you knows who you are, or cares.”
Sweet Dreams: Philosophical Obstacles to a Science of Consciousness (2005), p. 2
Daniel Dennett on Love
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“We really have to think of reasoning the way we think of romance, it takes two to tango. There has to be a communication.”
Daniel Dennett in a panel under the title "Can Rationality Be Taught?" at TAM 2014.
Daniel Dennett on Mind
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Attributed to Daniel Dennett:
“Consciousness is, on closer inspection, a bag of tricks performed by the brain.”
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“Reflections on 'A Conversation With Einstein's Brain'" in The Mind's I (1981), edited by Douglas R. Hofstadter and Daniel C. Dennett”
In fact , of course, science is an unparalleled playground of the imagination , populated by unlikely characters with wonderful names (messenger RNA, black holes, quarks) and capable of performing the most amazing deeds: sub-atomic whirling dervishes that can be in several places — everywhere and nowhere — at the same time; molecular hoop-snakes biting their own tails; self-copying spiral staircas -
“The Evolution of Consciousness," Consciousness and Emotion in Cognitive Science: Conceptual and Empirical Issues (1998) ed. Josefa Toribio & Andy Clark”
We now understand how very complex and even apparently intelligent phenomena, such as genetic coding, the immune system, and low-level visual processing, can be accomplished without a trace of consciousness. But this seems to uncover an enormous puzzle of just what, if anything, consciousness is for. Can a conscious entity do anything for itself that an unconscious (but cleverly wired up) simulati
Daniel Dennett on Nature
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Attributed to Daniel Dennett:
“Darwin's idea is a universal acid that eats through every traditional concept it touches.”
Daniel Dennett on Time
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“In fact , of course, science is an unparalleled playground of the imagination , populated by unlikely characters with wonderful names (messenger RNA, black holes, quarks) and capable of performing the most amazing deeds: sub-atomic whirling dervishes that can be in several places — everywhere and nowhere — at the same time; molecular hoop-snakes biting their own tails; self-copying spiral staircases bearing coded instructions; miniature keys searching for the locks in which they fit, on floating odysseys in a trillion synaptic gulfs.”
Reflections on 'A Conversation With Einstein's Brain'" in The Mind's I (1981), edited by Douglas R. Hofstadter and Daniel C. Dennett
Daniel Dennett on Truth
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Attributed to Daniel Dennett:
“If you have a good argument, you do not need to misrepresent your opponent's view.”