I've Been Thinking

May 1, 2023

I've Been Thinking, muses eminent philosopher and cognitive scientist Dennett (Consciousness Explained), whose memoir examines key influences on his thought (e.g., Gilbert Ryle, Stephen Jay Gould) and both breakthroughs and diversions along the way. Prepub Alert.

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September 1, 2023
The renowned philosopher and cognitive scientist reviews his remarkable life. Dennett (b. 1942) opens on the day he felt chest pain from the dissection of his aortic artery. Following a nine-hour surgery, he is now "the proud possessor of a new aorta." This happened in 2006, seven years after a catastrophic heart attack required triple-bypass surgery. Although Dennett is widely known for his cheerful atheism, this is predominantly an autobiography and so entertaining that even devout readers of faith should skim the few parts they may find objectionable. From a very early age, writes the author, everything fascinated him, and by college, he had taken up drawing, singing, jazz piano, and music composition and arrangement without, in his opinion, reaching a professional level (although he has had several exhibitions of his sculpture). In one year at Wesleyan and the remaining years at Harvard, Dennett devoted himself to the study of philosophy. On the whole, he avoided science and held a hilarious contempt for mid-20th-century psychology, until he grew captivated with the mind and consciousness, subjects in which he has made his sterling reputation. Two years at Oxford solidified his preoccupation with philosophy, and throughout the book, he discusses its burning issues as well as colleagues who agree and disagree with him. Readers seeking a deeper understanding of modern philosophy should consult his earlier books. Mostly, this is a rollicking autobiography of a successful academic who travels the world, lecturing, teaching, and arguing, often bitterly, with colleagues, but hating few. Along the way, the author chronicles plenty of diversions. He remains with his wife of more than six decades. The couple bought a run-down farm in Maine in 1970 and remained there until 2013, working it intensively. Dennett also tells us about his love of sailing and openly shares his skepticism about artificial intelligence. A delightful memoir from one of our deepest thinkers.

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October 1, 2023
Eminent philosopher, cognitive scientist, and public intellectual Dennett has led a charmed life. Though his father, a prominent Boston doctor the family later learned was a spy, died when Dennett was just five, the experience may have ignited a lifelong drive to understand other minds. Dennett attended Philips Exeter Academy, soon discovered a love and talent for the piano, and began a lifelong musical passion. He matriculated at Harvard and, later, grad school at Herford College, Oxford, a propitious opportunity that allowed Dennett to study under such notable philosophers as Gilbert Ryle and W. V. Quine. Dennett writes in an ebullient and engrossing anecdotal style as he settles into the role of raconteur, equally engaging whether discussing the nature of consciousness or making apple cider on his beloved Maine farm, whether prognosticating on AI or regaling the reader with tales of competitive sailing. Dennett eventually landed at Tufts University, where he spent his career and created one of the nation's top philosophy programs, along the way establishing himself as a leading popularizer of science and philosophy for the casual reader. Always an enthusiastic learner with an insatiable curiosity, Dennett's amiable autodidacticism illustrates a life of the mind intertwined with the rich home life of a true Renaissance man. Highly recommended.

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