Talks

Dan Dennett: Cute, sexy, sweet, funny

It appears that you have JavaScript disabled or have an old version of the Adobe Flash Player.
To view this video you need to get the latest Flash player. If you are on a mobile device, you may be able to download the video to play.
If your browser allows only "trusted sites" to execute Javascript, you should add the "googleapis.com" domain to your whitelist to allow our Flash detection to work properly.

TED Conversations

Got an idea, question, or debate inspired by this talk? Start a TED Conversation, or join one of these:

is consciousness a brain chemical reaction?
Started by Rafael Perez 95 Comments
Why don't people believe the fact of evolution?
Started by Tim Colgan 169 Comments
The code-13 principle(postulation of the sex arithmetic;a novel piece)
Started by Chimezie Ihekuna 3 Comments
What is your take on Memes and Temes???
Started by Neil Menzie 1 Comment

Comment on this Talk

236 total comments

This comment will be attributed to . Not ? Sign out.

Sort By:

This comment will be attributed to . Not ? Sign out.

891,843 Views

Why are babies cute? Why is cake sweet? Philosopher Dan Dennett has answers you wouldn't expect, as he shares evolution's counterintuitive reasoning on cute, sweet and sexy things (plus a new theory from Matthew Hurley on why jokes are funny).

Philosopher and scientist Dan Dennett argues that human consciousness and free will are the result of physical processes and are not what we traditionally think they are. His 2003 book Freedom Evolves explores the way our brains have evolved to give us -- and only us -- the kind of freedom that matters, while 2006's Breaking the Spell examines religious belief through the lens of biology. Full bio »