I was sad to learn of Dan Dennett’s death today. He was one of the first working philosophers I read, and he left a lasting impression on me.
Dennett was one of the “Four Horsemen of New Atheism” (back when that kind of thing was cool), and he was the only professional philosopher among them. He acted as a bridge for me from arguing about God online to taking philosophy seriously.
The Mind’s I, a compilation co-edited by Dennett and Hofstadter, was the textbook for the class that led me to change majors from Psychology to Philosophy, and maybe due to Dennett’s influence my academic work focused on philosophy of mind.
Even much later, his views on mind continued to push me forward, and I can see them clearly in how I make sense of current advances toward artificial intelligence. I am sad that he won’t be here for the arrival AGI, but I’m glad he got a chance to experience these early days.
I’ve already learned a lot from him, and I’ll take this as an opportunity for a second look into his works. I think I’ll start with The Mind’s I.
