Daniel Dennett Quotes
As Akins observes, it is not the point of our sensory systems that they should detect 'basic' or 'natural' properties of the environment, but that they should serve our 'narcissistic' purposes in staying alive; nature doesn't build epistemic engines.
Quotes to Explore
-
Most people treat the present moment as if it were an obstacle that they need to overcome. Since the present moment is life itself, it is an insane way to live.
-
It's what happens in other major championships - I just lose my head a little bit.
-
I always loved being fat, obviously. I'm Fat Joe.
-
Every so often when I'm writing, a character might actually be a distinct person in my head - often not an actor or a face, literally a person who just seems to exist in my imagination. Then the challenge is finding somebody who is close enough to that to make me feel like I've ended up where I wanted to be.
-
I think that when we strip people down, most of us want the same things. People just have very different views of how to get there.
-
I have no interest in non-fiction. I don't read it and don't watch it and don't write it, other than a little journalistic column.
-
There's no such thing as a non-final cut director.
-
Every drama requires a cast. The cast may be so huge, as in Leo Tolstoy's 'Anna Karenina,' that the author or editor provides a list of characters to keep them straight. Or it may be an intimate cast of two.
-
Anytime I get to help the firefighters, I will. I'm real lucky to be in a position to help.
-
Close friends consider me a literary snob.
-
The return we reap from generous actions is not always evident.
-
Love is a credulous thing.
-
I have this concept that I call 'Combo Meals.' The idea is that I start with the kids' meal and then add a few more ingredients, and it becomes the adult meal. This way I'm not making two entirely separate dishes. I'm just simply adding on to what I'm already making.
-
We always knew when we took on the issue of violence against women that somehow our opposition would come after us.
-
When Ted Williams was here, inducted into the Hall of Fame 37 years ago, he said he must have earned it, because he didn't win it because of his friendship with the writers. I guess in that way, I'm proud to be in this company that way.
-
People read more mysteries than they do political pamphlets.
-
When you bring the darkness to the table, it doesn't rule you or hurt other people, but when we keep it secret, it's dangerous.
-
Writing a book, you can only get stopped by yourself.
-
When I was young, I wanted to be the greatest blues singer of all time. I wrecked my education and left home for it.
-
When I was in high school I moved from the big city to a tiny village of 500 people in Vermont. It was like The Waltons!
-
The historic ascent of humanity, taken as a whole, may be summarized as a succession of victories of consciousness over blind forces - in nature, in society, in man himself.
-
While all the other kids were out playing ball and stuff, I used to stay in my room and imagine that there was a camera in the wall. And I used to really believe that I was putting on a television show and that it was going out to somewhere in the world.
-
As Akins observes, it is not the point of our sensory systems that they should detect 'basic' or 'natural' properties of the environment, but that they should serve our 'narcissistic' purposes in staying alive; nature doesn't build epistemic engines.
