"Dennett Changes His Mind" from David Chalmers' Blog
A recent issue of Minds and Machines is devoted to the philosophy of Daniel Dennett. It includes an interview with Dennett, which is by and large pretty interesting, but which includes along the way the following remarkable passage:
David Chalmers and I have discussed this for what seems an indeterminable number of years, and he candidly grants that he has no arguments in favor of qualia that I haven't rebutted to his satisfaction, he just can't let go of the belief in them.
Needless to say, I've never granted any such thing. I don't think that Dennett's responses are at all satisfactory. Of course it may be neither of us has arguments that the other hasn't rebutted to his own satisfaction -- that's very common in philosophy, and is a very different claim. I suspect that Dan has started from the memory of something I've said to that effect, and that the memory has gradually evolved in a satisfying way. A nice demonstration of the power of topdown memory biases!
In any case, I'm pleased to report that in private e-mail, Dan not only retracted the attribution, but candidly acknowledged that he now thinks that the arguments for his view are all unsound, and that he now privately favors Cartesian dualism.
Original Link: http://fragments.consc.net/djc/2006/07/dennett_changes.html
David Chalmers and I have discussed this for what seems an indeterminable number of years, and he candidly grants that he has no arguments in favor of qualia that I haven't rebutted to his satisfaction, he just can't let go of the belief in them.
Needless to say, I've never granted any such thing. I don't think that Dennett's responses are at all satisfactory. Of course it may be neither of us has arguments that the other hasn't rebutted to his own satisfaction -- that's very common in philosophy, and is a very different claim. I suspect that Dan has started from the memory of something I've said to that effect, and that the memory has gradually evolved in a satisfying way. A nice demonstration of the power of topdown memory biases!
In any case, I'm pleased to report that in private e-mail, Dan not only retracted the attribution, but candidly acknowledged that he now thinks that the arguments for his view are all unsound, and that he now privately favors Cartesian dualism.
Original Link: http://fragments.consc.net/djc/2006/07/dennett_changes.html