4 days ago
The Lasting Impact Of Daniel Dennett In Philosophy And Leadership
HAY-ON-WYE, WALES - MAY 26: Daniel Dennett, philosopher, attends The Telegraph Hay festival at ... More Dairy Meadows on May 26, 2013 in Hay-on-Wye, Wales. (Photo by) Getty Images
An academic whose work reaches beyond the Ivory Tower is rare. Scholarly writing tends to be highly technical, filled with footnotes and references, and often lacks a compelling narrative to captivate the reader. Not to mention that the work itself is usually deemed irrelevant and impractical for public knowledge.
The American philosopher Daniel Dennett (1942-2024) was, without a doubt, one of these generational thinkers who transcended the academic box. Why? His writing is filled with clear and interesting thought experiments, allowing anyone to grasp his theories, which span from philosophy, cognitive science and evolutionary biology to farming, sailing, and religion. Any curious person can find a relevant topic relating to their life in Dennett's vast body of work, and it will likely have them questioning whether they actually understood the topic in the first place.
The Dennett Prize Tribunal introduce the Award at the Vitsentzos Kornaros Cinema and Theatre in ... More Heraklion, Crete. L to R: Dmitry Volkov (philosopher, CEO of SDG, co-founder ICCS), Susan Blackmore (philosopher), Nick Humphrey (Emeritus Professor of Psychology, London School of Economics) and Anton Kuznetsov (philosopher). July 5, 2025. Theodore McDarrah
To celebrate the life and work of Dennett, the aptly named Dennett Prize was introduced in 2024. Like Dennett, the winner should 'challenge received ideas and introduce new perspectives.' The prize is presented as part of the International Center for Consciousness Studies (ICCS) annual conference, held this year in Heraklion, Crete, earlier this month. The inaugural winner of the Dennett Prize was given to Andy Clark, professor of cognitive philosophy at the University of Sussex.
Clark's groundbreaking work lies at the intersection of cognition, artificial intelligence, robotics, and neuroscience. Technical as it sounds, Clark channels Dennett in digestible examples. During his acceptance speech and subsequent lecture at the ICCS conference, Clark defined the Dennettian term of 'strange inversion' using the example of a pub that is known for its Guinness. We may think the pub's reputation is due to the exceptional Guinness pours, but in reality, the Guinness is exceptional because of the pub's reputation. In general terms, a 'strange inversion' turns received wisdom on its head.
Andy Clark (professor of cognitive philosophy at University of Sussex) gives inaugural Dennett Prize ... More Lecture at Vitsentzos Kornaros Cinema and Theatre, Heraklion, Crete. July 5, 2025. Theodore McDarrah
Clark was not shy in his admiration of Dennett. He called Dennett his 'major philosophical influence.' Clark continues, 'He was the first philosopher's voice that I had some affinity with. It seemed to me like a way of taking whatever you can from science, philosophy, or from anywhere else and using it to think about whatever you want to think about. That was so liberating. That's why I want to do philosophy.' Dennett was a long way from the French literature of Camus and Sartre that Clark studied as a young undergraduate, but, in his words, Dennett 'hijacked me.'
Clark was far from the only person who felt the impact of Dennett's work at the ICCS conference. Many of the participating philosophers, cognitive scientists, entrepreneurs, and neuropsychologists had known Dennett for decades, maintaining a relationship far beyond professional. Moreover, the ICCS conference was itself an instantiation of Dennett; it combined disciplines and invited people outside of academia.
This was intentional. Dmitry Volkov, a philosopher, CEO of the Social Discovery Group (SDG), and ICCS co-founder, is more familiar with Dennett's work than almost anyone. Volkov read Dennett's 1991 book Consciousness Explained, and 'thought it was really wrong.' According to Volkov, 'he was saying that language is basically the prerequisite for consciousness. So that meant he was denying consciousness in all the animals and denying consciousness in babies. I thought that was totally wrong, so I decided to tell him he's wrong.' After that first meeting, Volkov and Dennett became close, and the former eventually went on to write Boston's Zombie , one of the most comprehensive surveys of Dennett's theories of consciousness available.
Like Dennett, Volkov is much more than just a philosopher. His philosophical life came after his tenure as a leader in the tech world at SDG. Still, he will be the first to acknowledge the profound impact that philosophy, especially Dennett's philosophy, has had on his leadership style. As we will see, Dennett's philosophical strategies can be directly translated to successful leadership tactics.
Here are the three most important strategies. Understand First, Criticize Second
When Volkov introduced himself to Dennett and immediately criticized his work, there were no hard feelings between them. On the contrary, Dennett welcomed the discussion. Importantly, it was a discussion, not a lecture. How do we know this? It is the only way Dennett would have engaged in the first place.
Throughout his career, Dennett held a guiding principle: before stating a criticism, you must re-express or repeat back the point you plan to criticize in such a way that the person who initially made the point wishes she said it how you did. This proves that you understand.
This may date back to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's golden rule. According to the 18th-century English writer, 'Until you understand a writer's ignorance, presume yourself ignorant of his understanding.' A business leader would do well to adopt this approach. Expressing that you understand a plan or policy before criticizing and offering an alternative proposal will make your counter significantly stronger. Finding Lingua Franca
Dennett believed that philosophy is a discipline mediator. For Volkov, this is a crucial aspect of the success of both the ICCS and his business. Regarding the ICCS, 'we have computer scientists, neuroscientists, sociologists, anthropologists, we have different types of experts in different fields, and somebody needs to bridge the gap between the different languages of their domains.' This is the work for Clark and the other ICCS philosophers.
The same is true for business leaders. With client-facing roles, more removed engineers, and positions in between all speaking different vernaculars, a lingua franca must be found. It is the leader's responsibility to refine the language and solidify the terminology for cross-departmental understanding. This will unify the employees. Furthermore, Volkov points out that this 'will also allow you to articulate the overall goals of your business in a way that is accessible to all team members. Without clear goals, then you cannot lead.' Challenge Perceptions
Dennett's philosophy is full of strange inversions. His philosophical investigations start with some dogmas that are completely torn down by the end. According to Volkov, this is also how a successful business ought to begin. 'If you start a business with the default assumptions, you're likely going to build something that already exists. You're not going to be that special.' Conversely, if you begin with a contrarian view, you know you will be different from the others.
We are beginning to see that Andy Clark and future winners of the Dennett Prize showcase just the tip of the iceberg of Dennett's vast impact. We should look forward to uncovering these other areas where Dennett can provide a helping hand.
