Daniel Dennett quotes - page 5

Daniel Dennett is an American philosopher and cognitive scientist, widely known for his work on consciousness and the philosophy of mind. His research explores human cognition, free will, and the intersection of science and philosophy. He is recognized for his influential books and thought-provoking ideas about how minds emerge from physical processes. Here are 112 of his quotes:

Good intentions and inspiration are simply not enough.

Daniel Dennett

Wherever there is a conscious mind, there is a point of view.

Daniel Dennett

I am inclined to think that nothing could matter more than what people love. At any rate, I can think of no value that I would place higher. I would not want to live in a world without love. Would a world with peace, but without love, be a better world? Not if the peace was achieved by drugging the love (and hate) out of us, or by suppression. Would a world with justice and freedom, but without love, be a better world? Not if it was achieved by somehow turning us all into loveless law-abiders with none of the yearnings or envies or hatreds that are wellsprings of injustice and subjugation.

Daniel Dennett

Goodness comes in many forms, not just medicine and science.

Daniel Dennett

Can a conscious entity do anything for itself that an unconscious.

Daniel Dennett

Friends were anxious to learn if I had had a near-death experience, and if so, what effect it had had on my longstanding public atheism.

Daniel Dennett

Evolution is all about processes that almost never happen.

Daniel Dennett

It is commonly observed - but not commonly enough!

Daniel Dennett

Wherever there is a design that is highly successful in a broad range of similar environments, it is apt to emerge again and again, independently - the phenomenon known in biology as convergent evolution. I call these designs 'good tricks.'

Daniel Dennett

But if we ask where precisely in the brain that point of view is located, the simple assumptions that work so well on larger scales of space and time break down. It is now quite clear that there is no single point in the brain where all information funnels in, and this fact has some far from obvious consequences.

Daniel Dennett