Synonyms
Definition
The ability of rational agents to act out of self-determination; to select actions from a broad set of possible alternatives based on rational expectations of their consequences.
Introduction
Daniel Clement Dennett, an American philosopher and cognitive scientist from Tufts University, is one of the most influential living thinkers on the topic of free will. According to Dennett, free will is an “ability to see probable futures – futures that seem like they’re going to happen – in time to take steps so that something else happens instead” (Closer to Truth 2014).
Dennett’s view on free will falls under the umbrella of compatibilism, which holds that free will is compatible with determinism. Whether the universe is deterministic or indeterministic, Dennett claims, has no practical implications for concepts of moral responsibility and is therefore irrelevant to the question of whether or not an agent has free will. He has argued extensively...
References
Byrne, R. W., & Whiten, A. (Eds.). (1988). Machiavellian intelligence: Social expertise and the evolution of intellect in monkeys, apes, and humans. New York, NY, US: Clarendon Press/Oxford University Press.
Closer to Truth. (2014). Daniel Dennett – What is Free Will?. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/joCOWaaTj4A
Dennett, D. C. (1978). Brainstorms: Philosophical essays on mind and psychology. Brighton: Harvester Press.
Dennett, D. C. (1984). Elbow room: The varieties of free will worth wanting. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Dennett, D. C. (1988). The intentional stance (4th ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Dennett, D. C. (1992). The self as a center of narrative gravity. In: F. Kessel, P. Cole and D. Johnson (eds.) Self and Consciousness: Multiple Perspectives. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Dennett, D. C. (1996). Darwin’s dangerous idea: Evolution and the meanings of life. New York: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group.
Dennett, D. C. (2003). Freedom Evolves. New York: Viking, Print.
Dennett, D. C., & Harris, S. (2014). Reflections on FREE WILL. Available at https://www.samharris.org/blog/item/reflections-on-free-will. Accessed 5 Dec 2016.
Harris, S. (2012). Free will. New York: The Free Press.
Harris, S. (2014). The Marionette’s lament. Available at https://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-marionettes-lament. Accessed 5 Dec 2016.
Harris, S. (2016). Free will revisited. Available at https://www.samharris.org/podcast/item/free-will-revisited. Accessed 5 Dec 2016.
Hofstadter, D. R., & Dennett, D. C. (1982). The mind’s I: Fantasies and reflections on self and soul. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell.
Kane, R. L. (1996). The significance of free will. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Pereboom, D. (2001). Living without free will. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Santa Fe Institute. (2014). Is Free Will an Illusion? What Can Cognitive Science Tell Us?. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/wGPIzSe5cAU
Skinner, B. F. (1971). Beyond freedom and dignity. New York: Random House.
Strawson, G. (1994). The impossibility of moral responsibility. Philosophical Studies, 75(1–2), 5–24.
Strawson, G. (2003). Evolution Explains It All for You. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/02/books/evolution-explains-it-all-for-you.html
Van Inwagen, P. (1983). An essay on free will. New York: Oxford University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Bowen, D. (2018). Daniel Dennett on Free Will. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2168-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2168-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences