Dennett's Philosophy

Dr. David Thompson

This book arose out a conference, Dennett's Philosophy held at Memorial in November, 1998. Hundreds of scholars gathered at the university and 15 scholars contributed to the book. First drafts of the chapters were discussed by Dr. Dennett and the authors and among the authors. First drafts were discussed at the conference and all received replies from Dr. Dennett. Papers were then rewritten in light of those exchanges.

The influential philosopher Daniel Dennett is best known for his distinctive theory of mental content, his elucidation of how the complex components of mental processing seem to come together in the relatively coherent narratives that we tell ourselves about ourselves and in his vivid accounts of how to think about minds in their evolutionary setting.

The essays in this collection step back to ask: Do the complex components of Dennett's work on intentionality, consciousness, evolution, and ethics themselves come together into a coherent philosophical system? The essays, which grew out of a conference attended by Dennett, consider evolution, intentionality, consciousness, ontology, and ethics and free will. Unusually, for a collection of this kind, the authors were able to take account of Dennett’s comments on their views. In the concluding essay, With a Little Help from My Friends, Dennett offers his own thoughts on the comprehensiveness of his philosophy.

Don Ross is senior lecturer in economics and director of the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Program at the University of Cape Town. Andrew Brook is a philosophy professor and director of the Cognitive Science Program at Carleton. David Thompson is a philosophy professor at Memorial.

Dennett's Philosophy is published by the MIT Press.