We need to let our children grow up to face the world armed with knowledge, with much more knowledge than we ourselves had at their age. It is scary, but the alternative is worse.
Daniel DennettRead
There is no reality of consciousness independent of the effects of various vehicles of content on subsequent action (and hence, of course, on memory).
Interpretation
What this quote means
Consciousness is influenced by various factors which shape our actions and memories.
This quote by Daniel Dennett suggests that our understanding of consciousness is not a standalone reality; instead, it is significantly shaped by the different sources of content that we engage with. These sources affect how we perceive reality, how we act in the world, and ultimately how we remember our experiences, emphasizing the interconnectedness of mind, action, and memory.
Themes
ConsciousnessActionMemoryPerceptionInfluence
In practice
Example use cases
In a psychology lecture discussing the nature of consciousness.
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As every scuba diver knows, panic is your worst enemy: when it hits, your mind starts to thrash and you are likely to do something really stupid and self-destructive.
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