I've Been Thinking

Daniel C. Dennett, philosopher and cognitive scientist, has spent his career considering consciousness. I've Been Thinking traces the development of Dennett's own intellect and instructs us how we too can become good thinkers.

Dennett's restless curiosity leads him from his childhood in Beirut to Harvard, and from Parisian jazz clubs to 'tillosophy' on his tractor in Maine. Along the way, he encounters and debates with a host of legendary thinkers, and reveals the breakthroughs and misjudgments that shaped his paradigm-shifting philosophies. Thinking, Dennett argues, is hard, and risky. In fact, all good philosophical thinking is inevitably accompanied by bafflement, frustration and self-doubt. It is only in getting it wrong that we, very occasionally, find a way to get it right.

This memoir by one of the greatest philosophers of our time will speak to anyone who seeks a life of the mind with adventure and creativity.

Review

We are lucky that Dennett exists ... This is a generous book written by a figure who has made a significant impact on philosophy ... Anyone interested in philosophy should read it and consider how he achieved his distinctive voice. -- Nigel Warburton ― TLS

How unfair for one man to be blessed with such a torrent of stimulating thoughts. Stimulating is an understatement. -- Richard Dawkins

Unlike traditional philosophers, Daniel Dennett is a student of neuroscience, linguistics, artificial intelligence, computer science, and psychology. He's redefining and reforming the role of the philosopher. -- Marvin Minsky

Dennett has earned his reputation as one of today's most readable, intellectually nimble and scientifically literate philosophers. ― Nature

There seems to be no stopping Daniel Dennett. He has played a major role in integrating philosophy of mind with cognitive science, and his ideas have been widely discussed for decades... He is always fun to read. He has few equals at explaining complex topics, and his positive theories are never boring. ― TLS

Dennett is the mild-mannered super wizard of philosophical brainstorms. ― 3: AM Magazine

At 81 he has lost none of his sense of wonder ... refreshingly gossipy and unfiltered. -- Joe Humphreys ― Irish Times

About the Author

Daniel C. Dennett is University Professor Emeritus at Tufts University and the author of numerous books including From Bacteria to Bach and Back, Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking, Breaking the Spell, Darwin's Dangerous Idea, and Consciousness Explained. He lives with his wife in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.