Dennett on Determinism

In this clip, Daniel Dennett discusses the notion of an "epistemic horizon," and argues that (contrary to popular belief) adopting a purely materialistic account of mind does not provide grounds for nihilism.

For Dennett, humans are biological devices that respond to the environment with rational, desirable courses of action. He believes that even if our brains are causally determined, it does not follow that we are not morally responsible for our behavior. Dennett argues that we base our decisions on context, gradually limiting our options as the situation becomes more specific. In the most specific circumstances (actual events), he suggests there is only one option left for us.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbow_Room

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Evolves

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compatibilism_and_incompatibilism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laplace%27s_demon

The complete interview with Dennett can be found here:
http://www.hollanddoc.nl/dossiers/39221631/

Also, another interesting clip from the same documentary series can be found here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJzqHnwNbUY

Music: "Poets Act" by Phillip Glass from "The Hours Soundtrack"

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Daniel Dennett
• Materialism
• Compatibilism
• Physicalism
• Fatalism
• Freedom Evolves
• Epistemology