An Introduction and Critique of Daniel Dennett’s essay “Intentional Systems Theory”
Pseudonymously authored by Marsilio Gagliano (Aka, KMS) for Marsilio’s Reading Group, Open Habitat Project, Second Life © 2009 [Meeting Sunday, 16 August 2009) @ The Open Habitat Sim.
INTRODUCTION
I have written the following little essay to aid us in discussing together a reading graciously provided by Daniel Dennett entitled “Intentional Systems Theory” (2009) available at the Tuft University Website in pdf format.
Follow this link: http://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/papers/intentionalsystems.pdf
Our previous discussions of Nagel’s “What it is like to be a Bat?” and Whitehead’s “Nature Lifeless” went very well, but you may have noticed from the transcripts that our discussions departed rather rapidly from a consideration of the texts themselves. One of the useful features of a reading group, in contrast to other sorts of discussion groups, is that reading groups owe consideration of the texts themselves. So, I wanted to delay our departure from Dennett’s text by what may at first appear to be an odd means – by attacking it. Based on what I hope is a careful and accurate consideration of Dennett’s thesis in sections I and II of the following essay, I argue, in sections II and IV, that Daniel Dennett is an ironic metaphysical chicken, a cowardly beast whose theory of intentional systems theory is logically consistent but incomplete. My argument can be summarized in four steps: Read the rest of this entry »
