--- title: "Daniel Dennett" description: "Philosopher, cognitive scientist, and one of the Four Horsemen of New Atheism. Author of Breaking the Spell." canonical: https://opendoubt.com/people/daniel-dennett source: html --- # Daniel Dennett > Philosopher, cognitive scientist, and one of the Four Horsemen of New Atheism. Author of Breaking the Spell. Notable figure # Daniel Dennett Philosopher & Cognitive Scientist · 1942–2024 Daniel Dennett was an American philosopher, cognitive scientist, and one of the most influential thinkers of his generation. A professor at Tufts University for over fifty years, he spent his career working on consciousness, free will, and the philosophy of mind — always with an eye toward what science can actually tell us. Alongside [Christopher Hitchens](/people/christopher-hitchens), [Richard Dawkins](/people/richard-dawkins), and [Sam Harris](/people/sam-harris), Dennett was one of the “Four Horsemen of New Atheism.” Of the four, he was the most philosophical — less interested in polemic than in understanding _why_ religion exists in the first place. Core positions Religion is a natural phenomenon — study it that way Dennett argued we should apply the tools of evolutionary biology and cognitive science to religion itself: not just ask whether it's true, but why it exists, how it propagates, and what functions it serves. Consciousness is not magical His most influential philosophical work argued that consciousness is a complex form of information processing — not a mysterious extra ingredient requiring supernatural explanation. The 'hard problem' is hard, but not unsolvable. Watch out for deepities Dennett coined this term for statements that sound profound but are either trivially true or obviously false. Much religious language, he argued, relies on this technique to avoid scrutiny. Free will is real — but not the kind we usually imagine Unlike Harris, Dennett was a compatibilist: he believed free will is a real and meaningful concept, just not the libertarian version. Determinism and meaningful choice are compatible. ## Breaking the Spell His 2006 book _[Breaking the Spell](https://amzn.to/4dCIyy1)_ argues that religion is a natural phenomenon that can and should be studied scientifically. Rather than attacking belief head-on, Dennett asks: what is religion _for_? How did it evolve? And why do otherwise rational people defend it so fiercely? It’s the philosopher’s contribution to the New Atheist canon — measured, rigorous, and deeply curious. > The secret of happiness is: find something more important than you are and dedicate your life to it. ## Essential books [Breaking the Spell2006Why religion exists and what we should do about it](https://amzn.to/4dCIyy1)[Darwin's Dangerous Idea1995Evolution and the meanings of life](https://amzn.to/3wNzQfR)[Consciousness Explained1991A materialist account of the mind](https://amzn.to/3wOzQuZ)[Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking2013Philosophical tools for clearer thought](https://amzn.to/3wPzRuT) ## Best quotes > “The question 'What is the meaning of life?' is really asking, 'Is there a meaning of life?' And the answer is yes — the meaning of life is whatever you make it.” > “There is no polite way to suggest to someone that they have devoted their life to a folly.” > “A 'deepity' is a proposition that seems both important and true — and profound — but that achieves this effect by being ambiguous. On one reading it is manifestly false, and on another reading it is true but trivial.” > “The secret of happiness is: find something more important than you are and dedicate your life to it.” > “If you can approach the world's complexities, both its glories and its horrors, with an attitude of humble curiosity, acknowledging that however deeply you have seen, you have only scratched the surface, you will find worlds within worlds, beauties you could not heretofore imagine, and your own mundane preoccupations will shrink to proper size.” ## Legacy Dennett passed away in April 2024 at the age of 82. His work on consciousness — especially _Consciousness Explained_ and _Darwin’s Dangerous Idea_ — remains some of the most important philosophy written in the last fifty years. He brought a rare combination of warmth, wit, and intellectual seriousness to everything he did. Related thinkers [ Richard Dawkins Evolutionary Biologist ](/people/richard-dawkins)[ Sam Harris Neuroscientist ](/people/sam-harris)[ Christopher Hitchens Author & Journalist ](/people/christopher-hitchens) Continue exploring [ Sam Harris Fellow Horseman and author of The End of Faith. ](/people/sam-harris)[ Richard Dawkins Evolutionary biologist, author of The God Delusion. ](/people/richard-dawkins)[ Christopher Hitchens Fellow Horseman and author of God Is Not Great. ](/people/christopher-hitchens)[ Recommended reading Our full list of books, articles, and resources. ](/resources)[ Consciousness and the soul Consciousness and the soul — Dennett's domain. ](/arguments/consciousness-and-the-soul) ## Sources cited - https://amzn.to/4dCIyy1 - https://amzn.to/3wNzQfR - https://amzn.to/3wOzQuZ - https://amzn.to/3wPzRuT --- _Canonical HTML version: https://opendoubt.com/people/daniel-dennett_