20240519_EvolutionaryTheory_pen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGrRf1wD320
Daniel Dennett talks about how Darwin's [evolutionary theory] reflects the working of human identity better than the [classical theory] by Aristotle, Plato and Socrates about the essence of things.
To know that there are only continually variating things which are not fixed in nature, that nature itself guarantees change; that was the closest interpretation of the truth about reality.
He then talks about [memetic theory] as put forth through 'The Selfish Gene' by Charles Dawkins, in which he argues that memes, constituted by all words in any languages, and our subsequent interactions with either receiving or transmitting them around us, are a key motivator for pushing the human cultural evolution. This in turn evolves the human brain beyond the limits of its existing capability to comprehend our knowledge and culture.
And there's also Dennett's ['Intentional Stance'] where he believes that our pursuit to understand complex phenomena in our reality are enabled by our beliefs and desires, in turn creating a give-and-take dynamic. Our intention to understand the thing strengthens our understanding of the thing, its true intention, and the meaning it holds in the lives we live.
Daniel Dennett's other explorations include questioning of self-identity in the age of AI and the aftermath of the rise of autonomous agency in more complex human scenarios.