Dan Dennett: Sam Harris Is WRONG [Ep. 406]

Welcome everyone to a fascinating deep dive with the late Daniel Dennett!

In our interview, we tackled fascinating problems like free will, human consciousness, ethics, and the philosophy of science. He also explained why he’s sounding the alarm on AI!

Shortly after our interview, Daniel sadly passed away at the age of 82. He was a renowned philosopher, thought-provoking writer, brilliant cognitive scientist, and vocal atheist. He was the co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies, the Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University in Massachusetts, a member of the editorial board for The Rutherford Journal, and a co-founder of The Clergy Project.

Known as one of the "Four Horsemen" of New Atheism, he was at the forefront of discussions on consciousness, free will, and the impact of Darwinian evolution on religious belief. Dennett's works, including "Breaking the Spell" and "Consciousness Explained," have provoked both admiration and controversy, challenging readers to reconsider deeply held beliefs about the mind and its relationship to the physical world. Needless to say, I was thrilled to have Dan on the show!

The world has truly lost an extraordinary soul and a groundbreaking thinker.

Rest in peace, Dan....

Key Takeaways:

00:00:00 Intro
00:01:38 Judging a book by its cover
00:04:41 Dan's critique of Sam Harris's position on free will
00:13:53 The evolutionary advantage of music
00:21:12 Language, nonverbal communication, and artificial intelligence
00:26:43 Are brains computers?
00:38:15 Sounding the alarm on AI
00:43:48 Bioengineering and bioethics
00:49:30 Philosophy of physics
00:54:55 The evolution of academia
01:01:17 Audience questions
01:15:20 Outro

Additional resources:

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[DrBrianKeating]

What’s your favorite book or talk by Dan?❤

[dimitrioskaragiannis]

A Brilliant mind .One of the greatest philosophers of our time. Rest in pease Mr Dennet.

[ManuTheGreat]

It is so heartwarming to see and hear Daniel one last time.

Thank you for this talk, both of you.
Rest in peace .

[gardenlizard]

Condolences to his family, loved ones, and friends. 🙏

[anandgehahaas]

A beautiful and brilliant Thinker. I m thankful to be able reading his books and listening to him.
❤

[josefschiltz]

Thanks for all the tools, Dan. You left us wishing for more. Really could have hoped you would've stayed longer.

[PrincipledUncertainty]

I'm fairly angry that I only found out after seeing this video in my feed. Where is his tribute in the press? Thanks for this gift.

[docjaramillo]

What I great mind. Professor Dennett’s scholarship and public speaking will help guide humanity to greater peace, less superstition, and greater thriving. A life very well lived. Thanks, Dr. Dennett

[samikaikkonen]

Respect to Dan Dennett for his immense intellect, nifty insights, thoughtful viewpoints, subtle summaries and vigorous wisecracks. A life well lived is examined and the unknown is what it really is. 🙏

[gosiaruthner]

Wspaniały Filozof, smutne że już go nie ma 😮 Genialny Człowiek, bylam po stronie Denneta całym sercem😀❤😥

[Oentience]

Thank you for your brave contributions Daniel, RIP sir, we LOVE YOU for standing up for the truth! Free will is simply ⚔⚔ *_Awareness to the power of x (irrefutable logic that is)_* ⚔⚔. Much love, truth and reason and may nothing else prevail upon this earth in this brief existence of ours! May we learn to have gratitude where we fail to, may we live with the same courage as Daniel! ❤

[Bather]

Wonlderful and a fitting tribute. His laugh at your talk's title made me smile, too.

[Bill..N]

I can't go as far as saying rest in peace, Dan, but I CAN say you will be fondly remembered by your countless fans and the very fine insights you have left behind for us to consider..

[sulljoh]

Daniel Dennett taught us all how to think ❤
Remember what he said 🙏

[yosivin]

I had no idea he had passed away. A great man, a great thinker. Those who listened not recently saw how much he emphasized the threats of artificial intelligence in that it can damage trust between humans. A great man, I learned a lot from him. Rest in peace.

[Hugoknots]

Great questions, provocative ideas, and a good faith discussion. Real glad you allowed to him to speak as much as he did.
May he rest in peace. 🙏

[thesocialexchangepodcast]

So sad to hear about his passing. Great interview of course. I always wanted to interview him — I’m glad that he was prolific.

[Rico-Suave_]

I loved Dr. Daniel Dennett, very sad to hear about his passing, I've would have loved to meet him, he was my absolute favorite, an intellectual giant, a legend, true sage, heard he was also very kind gentle person, huge loss to civilization, I will watch tons of his lectures in the next few weeks in his memory, I made a playlist of his lectures and interviews for myself to work through, listening to Dr Dennett lectures would be my idea of Heaven 1:17:31

[raidermen]

This is a beautiful tribute to a great man. I first heard of Dan when I saw his book “Consciousness Explained”. While I didn’t agree with all he had to say, he was an engaging speaker with a brilliant mind. The world is a little poorer with his loss. RIP Dan🙏

[JumpingCow]

Thank you, Brian. This was a wonderful interview. Daniel's kind and perceptive personality really shines through. It's is very sad that he is gone. I remember him from The Mind's I, which I read in my younger days, and was blown away by.