David DennenEmergence and Consciousness ReconsideredSo what is emergence? First of all, forget all those fancy concepts you may have heard about in connection with emergence.May 221May 221
David DennenIntroduction to the “Reading Dewey’s Logic” Video SeriesTo my mind, John Dewey is the greatest philosopher the United States has produced. He is simply unmatched in terms of the range of…Jan 27Jan 27
David DennenSome Logico-Empirical Aspects of the Phrase “Could Have Acted Otherwise”Free will (and thus moral responsibility) has often been defined by the criterion that “one could have acted/done otherwise.”Dec 14, 2023Dec 14, 2023
David DennenAsserting vs. Reading: Or, Why Academic Presentations SuckI teach a conference-speaking class every year. I attend a number of academic conferences every year. I often listen to or watch recordings…Dec 11, 2023Dec 11, 2023
David DennenIs Frank Jackson’s Knowledge Argument about Knowledge?Frank Jackson’s “Knowledge Argument” against physicalism, also known as the “Mary’s Room Argument,” has been much discussed. Jackson first…Oct 27, 2023Oct 27, 2023
David DennenWhat “Self” and “Consciousness” Mean to an Old-School Pragmatist-BehavioristThe goal of this short essay is to lay out some basic pragmatist concepts for making sense of “self” and “consciousness.”Apr 10, 2023Apr 10, 2023
David DennenAre (LLM) Chatbots Conscious?Is it possible for an artificial intelligence to become really conscious? Are some AIs already conscious, as at least a few people think…Mar 7, 2023Mar 7, 2023
David DennenDerrida’s Two Kinds of ReadingDeconstruction as a two-stage approach to literary interpretation.Feb 26, 20231Feb 26, 20231
David DennenThe Ethics of Critical Engagement: Vitality, Justice, Understanding, OverstandingDoes criticism have an ethics? Should it? Back in 1979, the literary critic Wayne Booth published a book called Critical Understanding…Sep 27, 2022Sep 27, 2022
David DennenTwo Tales of Bullying: James Feibleman and Audre LordeThere are two tales of bullying from the philosophical literature which have stuck with me over the years.Sep 12, 2022Sep 12, 2022