Daniel Dennett on Tools To Transform Our Thinking
Science & Technology
•
1h 18m
Daniel Dennett is one of the world's most original and provocative thinkers. A philosopher and cognitive scientist, he is known as one of the 'Four Horseman of New Atheism' along with Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and the late Christopher Hitchens.
On May 22nd he came to Intelligence Squared to share the insights he has acquired over his 40-year career into the nature of how we think, decide and act. Dennett revealed his favourite thinking tools, or 'intuition pumps', that he and others have developed for addressing life's most fundamental questions. As well as taking a fresh look at familiar moves -- Occam's Razor, reductio ad absurdum -- he discussed new cognitive solutions designed for the most treacherous subject matter: evolution, meaning, consciousness and free will.
By acquiring these tools and learning to use them wisely, we can all aspire to better understand the world around us and our place in it.
Up Next in Science & Technology
-
Yuval Noah Harari on War, Disease and...
Award-winning author of the best-seller, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Yuval Noah Harari sits down with Professor Shahidha Bari to discuss the themes of his new book, Unstoppable Us Volume 1, aimed at a younger audience.
Harari's latest book is aimed at children so it’s on the smaller...
-
The Cyber Weapons Arms Race
Zero day: a software bug that allows a hacker to break into your devices and move around undetected. One of the most coveted tools in a spy's arsenal, a zero day has the power to silently spy on your iPhone, dismantle the safety controls at a chemical plant, alter an election, and shut down the e...
-
Calling Out Bad Science and Junk Data
Politicians are unconstrained by facts. Science is conducted by press release. Start-up culture elevates hype to high art. The world is awash in bullshit, and we're drowning in it.
Based on their popular course at the University of Washington, Carl Bergstrom and Jevin West give us the tools to s...
