By: Liz Do
25 Apr, 2024
In Memoriam: Daniel Dennett
April 25, 2024
Daniel Dennett is remembered as a world-renowned philosopher for his writings on consciousness and AI. Dennett was an Advisor in CIFAR’s Brain, Mind & Consciousness program
The CIFAR community is mourning the loss of Daniel Dennett, an Advisor in the Brain, Mind & Consciousness program, and a professor and co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University. He passed away at the age of 82.
Dennett was one of the most widely read and debated philosophers of modern times, known for his writings on consciousness, AI, free will, religion and evolutionary biology. He wrote 10 books and more than 400 articles on the science of the mind.
“Daniel Dennett was a prolific figure whose work and ideas on consciousness helped shape the direction and focus of our Brain, Mind & Consciousness program. He personally embodied the kind of interdisciplinary scholarship that CIFAR believes is so powerful, namely that it’s when philosophy and the brain sciences are in deep conversation that we’re best able to make progress on fundamental questions,” said Kate Geddie, Senior Director, Research and Head Assessment & Evaluation at CIFAR.
“Dan Dennett was an intellectual giant, of course, but he was also a kind, gentle and funny man,” said Adrian Owen, program Co-Director. “As a long-serving member of the program’s Advisory Committee, Dan would often listen quietly as wild ideas bounced around the room. Then, he’d add the last — and usually the best — word on the issue, frequently leaving us all speechless. We are all much smarter for knowing Dan, and he will be greatly missed.”
Dennett’s research centred on the philosophy of the mind, the philosophy of science and the philosophy of biology, particularly as those fields relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science. He was also a vocal atheist and secularist and was referred to as one of the “Four Horsemen” of New Atheism, along with Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens.
“On behalf of CIFAR, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to Daniel’s family, friends and colleagues,” said Stephen Toope, President & CEO of CIFAR. “He was an inspiration to many academics across the globe, particularly those in our Brain, Mind & Consciousness program, who will carry on his work in advancing our understanding of consciousness.”