Daniel Dennett

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Daniel Dennett spent decades puzzling over the existence of minds and he seems like a man after my own heart but definitely one whose brain I would be wanting in return - if he hadn't died in April.

I've only just started on his writings and I thank Dan Falk and his article, 10 Brilliant Insights from Daniel Dennett, for the pointers. Here's one of the ten snippets from the article ... 

Reality is more magical than miracles  

Some people don’t want magic tricks explained to them. I’m not that person. When I see a magic trick, I want to see how it’s done. People want free will or consciousness, life itself, to be real magic. What I want to show people is, look, the magic of life as evolved, the magic of brains as evolving in between our own ears, that’s thrilling! It’s affirming. You don’t need miracles. You just need to understand the world the way it really is, and it’s unbelievably wonderful. We’re so lucky to be alive! The anxiety that people feel about giving up the traditional magical options, I take that very seriously. I can feel that anxiety. But the more I understood about the things I didn’t understand, the more the anxiety ebbed. The more the joy, the wondrousness came back.

—Interview in the New York Times Magazine, Aug. 27, 2023

I can't really work out how I didn't know about Mr Dennett until earlier this year, life eh ... on with the books, YouTube videos and see what he had to say about everything.

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