Classic Dennet.

This is an very good and somewhat unusual analysis of the question of Free Will. One of his more purely philosophical works, Dennett breaks down the question of Free Will into several components and addresses these in turn. Although quite easy to follow, it is quite a dense work (much ground is covered over its 172 pages) and he does not describe the historical debate about Free Will (that is 2,500 years old) - so I would recommend that any reader familiarise themselves with the historical approaches to Determinism/Indeterminism, Compatibalism/Incompatibalism in order to get the most out of the book.

Although he never states his personal view explicitly, Dennett could be classed a Compatibalist in the Free Will discussion. His universe is a mechanistic one, if not entirely deterministic in the classical sense. (On this last point, I think he is just reluctant to commit, in light of quantum mechanics). Ultimately, it doesn't matter, as each of his arguments apply both to a determined or indeterminate universe). What Dennett is doing here is deconstructing the notion of what Free Will could possibly be and why it is of importance/relevance to us at all.

The first four chapters of 'Elbow Room' are excellent. Dennett is at his strongest when deconstructing popular myths - even held by many of his professional colleagues today - and puts these into plain language even the amateur philosopher. There is a wealth of Dennett's "intuition pumps' - thought experiments to get the reader thinking about issues that may have become over-familiar.

Unfortunately, where this book falls down is in the final three chapters, when he has to reconstruct his world view. Dennett's attempt to reconstruct a complete picture is not as convincing. I don't believe that this is due to an error in his thoughts - just that the argument is incomplete.

All in all, the strengths of this unusual look at Free Will outweigh the minor faults. (3.5 / 5)

A lovely, though perhaps brief book. Dennett's incisive intellect will cast a light on misconceptions harbored in error by even the most rational minds (the fatalism as determinism discussion is particularly illuminating). However, the mode of logic found within these pages seems like more of an evolution of a series of thoughts rather than a revolution. (I mention this in passing, not as a criticism.)

I wish Dennettt, was once or now a freewiller Theres no way someone who wasnt able to give a contra mind perception would lay off in btw that such a faith. athiest who is determinist,crap.

supplanted by Consciousness Explained

I'm a big fan of Daniel Dennett - he's one of the more amusing philosophers in terms of his writing, he's always provocative and interesting, and I mostly agree with what he says. And what a beard! But seriously, this was a very spirited defence of the possibility of free will. Dennett was as refreshingly pro-science as he always is and I especially liked his main argument that the main reason philosophers think we don't have free will is that their image of what they want free will to be is incoherent and impossible. I mostly read this for my MPhilStud course, and it is definitely aimed at someone with a good knowledge of philosophy, but I also enjoyed it a lot.

As bad as it gets. 'Evitability'? Dennett should have invented an alias while he was inventing crap to pad this book. It's lucky that he and Hofstadter got together; now only two people have to suffer and not four.

I do like Dennett

This was a good listen but I’d get a lot more out of it if I read it rather than listened. Would attempt to read it again someday.

Too much words for a fairly good simple concept.

This is one of Dannett's earlier works and it is one of his most celebrated pieces. Written on human consciousness, this is a look at how it may have come about and what it may consist of. I did find that this book was a little harder to follow (even more-so than some of his other pieces) because Dannett, to me, seems to write in a style that almost mimics free-form. Great book though...really makes you think.

"The subtlety and deviousness of this thinking-without-a-thinker is often more than a match for the thinking we thinkers do" Daniel Dannett "Elbow Room"

"A closet with a ghost in it is a terrible thing, but a closet that is just like a closet with a ghost in it (except for lacking the ghost) is nothing to fear." Daniel Dannett "Elbow Room"

(Rating: 4.0 /5.0, even)