Daniel Dennett
An influential philosopher and cognitive scientist known for his work on consciousness, free will, and the philosophy of mind from a naturalistic perspective.
Quotes by Daniel Dennett
The brain is a machine, but it's a machine that makes other machines, and those machines make other machines, and so on, until you get to the level of human culture.
A mind is a terrible thing to waste, but a terrible thing to have if you don't know how to use it.
There is no such thing as a private language.
The idea that we have a 'self' that is somehow separate from our brain is a persistent illusion.
If you want to understand consciousness, you have to understand how the brain works.
The only way to make sense of the world is to admit that it doesn't make sense.
Free will is real, but it's not what most people think it is.
Evolution is not just a theory; it's the best theory we have.
The universe is a giant computer, and we are just programs running on it.
Memes are like genes, but they replicate in minds instead of bodies.
Religion is a natural phenomenon, but that doesn't make it true.
We need to study religion scientifically, not just philosophically.
The problem with common sense is that it's not very common.
Philosophy is what you do when you don't know what questions to ask.
The mind is not a thing, but a process.
We are all robots, but we are very special robots.
The only way to understand consciousness is to build it.
Science is not just a collection of facts, but a way of thinking.
The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.
The brain is a narrative generator.