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Daniel Dennett on Tools to Transform Our Thinking

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Daniel Dennett, one of the of the world's leading philosophers, came to the Intelligence Squared stage to share with aspiring thinkers his personal trove of mind-stretching thought experiments.

Daniel Dennett is one of the world’s most original and provocative thinkers. A philosopher and cognitive scientist, he is known as one of the ‘Four Horseman of New Atheism’ along with Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and the late Christopher Hitchens.

On May 22nd he came to Intelligence Squared to share the insights he has acquired over his 40-year career into the nature of how we think, decide and act. Dennett revealed his favourite thinking tools, or ‘intuition pumps’, that he and others have developed for addressing life’s most fundamental questions. As well as taking a fresh look at familiar moves – Occam’s Razor, reductio ad absurdum – he discussed new cognitive solutions designed for the most treacherous subject matter: evolution, meaning, consciousness and free will.

By acquiring these tools and learning to use them wisely, we can all aspire to better understand the world around us and our place in it.

Featuring

  • Daniel Dennett

    Philsopher, writer and cognitive scientist

Speakers are subject to change.

Speakers

Featuring

Daniel Dennett

Philsopher, writer and cognitive scientist

Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University, who has published numerous books, including Breaking the Spell (2007), Darwin’s Dangerous Idea (1996) and Consciousness Explained (1991). Along with Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris, he is known as one of the ‘Four Horsemen of New Atheism’. In 2012 he was awarded the Erasmus Prize, recognising his ability to translate the cultural significance of science and technology to a broad audience.