Picture of Daniel Dennett
Most philosophers who study consciousness focus on the nature of its origins. However, some philosophers focus on whether consciousness is real at all. Daniel Dennett is one philosopher who believes that consciousness is not necessarily real.
Dennett is a proponent of the idea of illusionism. That is, he believes that consciousness is an illusion resulting from the brain playing "tricks" on us (Slade, 2023). The brain tries to form a depiction of a qualitative experience that it thinks we are having and projects that as our consciousness. Specifically, Dennett applies the idea of the "user illusion" to explain consciousness (Slade, 2023). This idea compares consciousness to a device in which the user can use it by interacting with an easy-to-use interface without knowing the underlying mechanics behind the interface. Similarly, humans perceive a simple version of reality through consciousness and interact with reality using this perception. Dennett says that our brain is constantly trying to create a narrative of the world around us.
Dennett does not believe the 'illusion' of consciousness originates from a single point in the brain. Instead, multiple parts of the brain attempt to continually create basic interpretations of the world using sensory inputs and refine them to make them better and better (Slade, 2023). This allows us to have a perception of the world that constantly changes based on our experiences.
Dennett's views have multiple implications for our lives. For one, his views indicate that how we perceive the world can depend on our knowledge of it. A person with more knowledge of the world may have a more detailed 'illusion' compared to someone with less knowledge of the world. Additionally, Dennett's views may indicate that we as humans do not have a fundamental full understanding of the world we live in, and such an understanding may not be able to ever be fully achieved through mere advances in science and technology. Overall, Dennett's view of illusionism challenges the traditional view of consciousness.
References:
Slade, R. (2023, November 2). Philosopher Daniel Dennett On the Illusion of Consciousness. Down East Magazine. https://downeast.com/arts-leisure/philosopher-daniel-dennett-on-the-illusion-of-consciousness/
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