Daniel Dennett: Reconciling Science and Our Self-Conception

ISBN-13: 9780745621173 / Angielski / Miękka / 2003 / 312 str.

Matthew Elton

Opis

Daniel Dennett is one of the most influential thinkers at the interface between philosophy and science. This book is the first comprehensive examination of Dennett's ideas on the nature of thought, consciousness, free will, and the significance of Darwinism.

• A highly original introduction to contemporary thinking about the relationship between mind and science.
  
• This is the first comprehensive examination of Dennett's ideas on the nature of thought, consciousness, free will, and the significance of Darwinism.
  
• Examines Dennett's unique response to the question of when and how science should affect the conception that we have of ourselves.
  
• Casts new light on specific controversies: Could robots ever think, feel, and enjoy freedom? Does Dennett really explain consciousness? Are mental states real or merely 'useful fictions'? Do we have free will? Is the self a 'centre of narrative gravity'?

Recenzje

"Elton′s book will be an invaluable companion for anyone hoping to get to grips with Dennett′s rich and expansive vision." David Bain, The Philosophical Quarterly April 2005

For over thirty years Daniel Dennett has been among the most important, innovative and engaging philosophers in the world. With the appearance of his book, Consciousness Explained, in 1991, his fame and his influence spread throughout the academic world and beyond. While there has been a great deal written about Dennett s ideas, until now we have had no systematic, integrated account of the "real patterns" that run through Dennett s philosophy. Elton s clear, readable and well–informed book provides just such an account. This is the ideal book for readers and they are many who ve been captivated by reading Dennett s work and want to understand how the themes that he explores with such intellectual exuberance fit together in an integrated account of human agents and the sciences that study them. Professor Stephen Stich, Department of Philosophy and Center for Cognitive Science, Rutgers University

This is an excellent introduction to the twists and turns of Dennett s thinking. In guiding the reader through a luminous yet sometimes puzzling maze of images, empirical excursions, thought experiments and hard arguments, Matthew Elton lays bare the deep unifying agenda that animates all of Dennett s work. Combining the roles of careful critic and generous host, Elton s patient excavations will help the novice and excite the expert. Professor Andy Clark, Director of the Cognitive Science Program, Department of Philosophy, Indiana University

Spis treści

Acknowledgements.

Abbreviations.

Preface.

1. Dennett and the Philosophy of Mind.

2. Adopting A Stance.

3. Real Patterns.

4. Different Kinds Of Psychology.

5. Explaining Consciousness: The Basic Account.

6. Explaining Consciousness:Developments, Doubts And The Self.

7. Dennett′s Darwin.

8. A Variety Of Free Will Worth Wanting.

Notes.

Glossary.

Bibliography.

Index

O autorze

Matthew Elton is a former Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Stirling.

Blurb

Daniel Dennett is one of the most influential thinkers at the interface between philosophy and science. This book is the first comprehensive examination of Dennett s ideas on the nature of thought, consciousness, free will, and the significance of Darwinism.

Elton examines Dennett s unique response to the question of when and how science should affect the conception that we have of ourselves. Whilst rejecting reductionism on the grounds that much of our self–conception is immune to revision, Dennett also rejects the idea that science has nothing to say about our self–conception an idea that still flourishes within contemporary philosophy. What emerges is a view in which our understanding of ourselves is constrained by, but not continuous with, scientific inquiry.

Elton excels at bringing out the themes that bind together different aspects of Dennett s work. At the same time he casts new light on more specific controversies: Could robots ever think, feel, and enjoy freedom? Does Dennett really explain consciousness? Are mental states real or merely useful fictions ? Do we have free will? Is the self a centre of narrative gravity ?

Written in an exceptionally clear and engaging style, the book is a highly original introduction to contemporary thinking about the relationship between mind and science.