Dan Dennett

Daniel Clement Dennett III (1942–2024) was an American philosopher and cognitive scientist known for influential work on the philosophy of mind, consciousness, and evolutionary theory. He spent most of his academic career at Tufts University, where he was University Professor and co-founded the Center for Cognitive Studies. Dennett’s writings argued for naturalistic explanations of mental phenomena and emphasized the role of evolution in shaping cognition. He authored widely read books including *Consciousness Explained* (1991), *Darwin’s Dangerous Idea* (1995), and *Breaking the Spell* (2006). A prominent public intellectual, he engaged debates on free will, religion, and the implications of cognitive science.