The illusion of consciousness | Dan Dennett
http://www.ted.com Philosopher Dan Dennett makes a compelling argument that not only don't we understand our own consciousness, but that half the time our brains are actively fooling us. ...
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So I'm going to speak about a problem that I have and that's that I'm a philosopher. (Laughter) When I go to a party and people ask me what do I do and I say, "I'm a professor," their eyes glaze over. When I go to an academic cocktail party and there are all the professors around, they ask me what field I'm in and I say, "philosophy" -- their eyes glaze over. (Laughter) When I go to a philosopher's party (Laughter) and they ask me what I work on and I say, "consciousness," their eyes don't glaze over -- their lips curl into a snarl. (Laughter) And I get hoots of derision and cackles and growls because they think, "That's impossible! You can't explain consciousness." The very chu...
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So I'm going to speak about a problem that I have and that's that I'm a philosopher. (Laughter) When I go to a party and people ask me what do I do and I say, "I'm a professor," their eyes glaze over. When I go to an academic cocktail party and there are all the professors around, they ask me what field I'm in and I say, "philosophy" -- their eyes glaze over. (Laughter) When I go to a philosopher's party (Laughter) and they ask me what I work on and I say, "consciousness," their eyes don't glaze over -- their lips curl into a snarl. (Laughter) And I get hoots of derision and cackles and growls because they think, "That's impossible! You can't explain consciousness." The very chu...
