Hutton Honors College

From Free Will to Artificial Intelligence:
Pizza Discussion Supper with Daniel Dennett, Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University

• Thurs., Mar. 9, 2006
• 5-6:30 p.m.
• Honors House, 324 N. Jordan
• SIGN-UP REQUIRED

Daniel Dennett has been described as "a thinker of enormous stature and influence" and "the very top philosopher of mind in this country." His work covers such areas as philosophy of biology, theories of free will, and artificial intelligence; and he relies heavily on science to ponder complex issues of life and the human mind. He is well versed in the fields of neuroscience, linguistics, artificial intelligence, computer science, and psychology. Two of his most notable books, Consciousness Explained and Darwin's Dangerous Idea, showcase his controversial answers to the questions "Where did we come from?" and "What makes us human?" Can the existence of the human mind be explained solely through the process of natural selection? Will it one day be possible to endow machines with life and thought? Are notions of consciousness and free will merely illusions? Join Daniel Dennett in a discussion that can range as freely as you would like.

On campus as a Patten Lecturer, Professor Dennett will deliver two public lectures. The first, "Freedom Evolves—a Dangerous Idea?" will be given on Tuesday, March 7, at 7:30 p.m. in Jordan Hall 124. The second, "Religion as a Natural Phenomenon," will be given on Thursday, March 9, at 7:30 p.m. in Rawles 100.

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