Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat. It is the two-dimensional analog of the length of a curve (a one-dimensional concept) or the volume of a solid (a three-dimensional concept).

The area of a shape can be measured by comparing the shape to squares of a fixed size. In the International System of Units (SI), the standard unit of area is the square metre (m²), which is the area of a square whose sides are one metre long. A shape with an area of three square metres would have the same area as three such squares. In mathematics, the unit square is defined to have area one, and the area of any other shape or surface is a dimensionless real number.

There are several well-known formulas for the areas of simple shapes such as triangles, rectangles, and circles. Using these formulas, the area of any polygon can be found by dividing the polygon into triangles. For shapes with curved boundary, calculus is usually required to compute the area. Indeed, the problem of determining the area of plane figures was a major motivation for the historical development of calculus.

For a solid shape such as a sphere, cone, or cylinder, the area of its boundary surface is called the surface area. Formulas for the surface areas of simple shapes were computed by the ancient Greeks, but computing the surface area of a more complicated shape usually requires multivariable calculus.

Area plays a important role in modern mathematics. In addition to its obvious importance in geometry and calculus, area is related to the definition of determinants in linear algebra, and is a basic property of surfaces in differential geometry. In analysis, the area of a subset of the plane is defined using Lebesgue measure, though not every subset is measurable. In general, area in higher mathematics is seen as a special case of volume for two-dimensional regions.

Formal definition

An approach to defining what is meant by area is through axioms. For example, we may define area as a function ''a'' from a collection ''M'' of special kind of plane figures (termed measurable sets) to the set of real numbers which satisfies the following properties:

For all ''S'' in ''M'', $a(S)\; \backslash ge\; 0$.

If ''S'' and ''T'' are in ''M'' then so are $S\backslash cup\; T$ and $S\backslash cap\; T$ and also, $a(S\backslash cup\; T)=a(S)+a(T)-a(S\backslash cap\; T)$.

If ''S'' and ''T'' are in ''M'' with $S\backslash subset\; T$ then ''T'' − ''S'' is in ''M'' and ''a''(''T'' − ''S'') = ''a''(''T'') − ''a''(''S'').

If a set ''S'' is in ''M'' and ''S'' is congruent to ''T'' then ''T'' is also in ''M'' and ''a''(''S'') = ''a''(''T'').

Every rectangle ''R'' is in ''M''. If the rectangle has length ''h'' and breadth ''k'' then ''a''(''R'') = ''hk''.

Let ''Q'' be a set enclosed between two step regions ''S'' and ''T''. A step region is formed from a finite union of adjacent rectangles resting on a common base, i.e. $S\backslash subset\; Q\backslash subset\; T$. If there is a unique number ''c'' such that $a(S)\backslash le\; c\backslash le\; a(T)$ for all such step regions ''S'' and ''T'', then ''a''(''Q'') = ''c''.

It can be proved that such a area function actually exists. (See, for example, ''Elementary Geometry from an Advanced Standpoint'' by Edwin Moise.)

Units

Every unit of length has a corresponding unit of area, namely the area of a square with the given side length. Thus areas can be measure in square metres (m²), square centimetres (cm²), square millimetres (mm²), square kilometres (km²), square feet (ft²), square yards (yd²), square miles (mi²), and so forth. Algebraically, these units can be thought of as the squares of the corresponding length units.

The SI unit of area is the square metre, which is considered an SI derived unit.

Conversions

The conversion between two square units is the square of the conversion between the corresponding length units. For example, since :1 foot = 12 inches, the relationship between square feet and square inches is :1 square foot = 144 square inches, where 144 = 12² = 12 × 12. Similarly:

1 square kilometer = 1,000,000 square meters

1 square meter = 10,000 square centimetres = 1,000,000 square millimetres

1 square centimetre = 100 square millimetres

1 square yard = 9 square feet

1 square mile = 3,097,600 square yards = 27,878,400 square feet

In addition,

1 square inch = 6.4516 square centimetres

1 square foot = square metres 1 square yard = square metres 1 square mile = square kilometres

Other units

There are several other common units for area. The are was the original unit of area in the metric system, with

1 are = 100 square metres

Though the are has fallen out of use, the hectare is still commonly used to measure land:

1 hectare = 100 ares = 10,000 square metres = 0.01 square kilometres

Other uncommon metric units of area include the tetrad, the hectad, and the myriad.

The acre is also commonly used to measure land areas, where

1 acre = 4,840 square yards = 43,560 square feet.

An acre is approximately 40% of a hectare.

Basic area formulae

Rectangles

The most basic area formula is the formula for the area of a rectangle. Given a rectangle with length and , the formula for the area is :  (rectangle). That is, the area of the rectangle is the length multiplied by the width. As a special case, the area of a square with side length is given by the formula :  (square).

The formula for the area of a rectangle follows directly from the basic properties of area, and is sometimes taken as a definition or axiom. On the other hand, if geometry is developed before arithmetic, this formula can be used to define multiplication of real numbers.

Dissection formulae

Most other simple formulae for area follow from the method of dissection. This involves cutting a shape into pieces, whose areas must sum to the area of the original shape.

For an example, any parallelogram can be subdivided into a trapezoid and a right triangle, as shown in figure to the left. If the triangle is moved to the other side of the trapezoid, then the resulting figure is a rectangle. It follows that the area of the parallelogram is the same as the area of the rectangle: :  (parallelogram). thumb|right|180px|Two equal triangles.However, the same parallelogram can also be cut along a diagonal into two congruent triangles, as shown in the figure to the right. It follows that the area of each triangle is half the area of the parallelogram: :$A\; =\; \backslash frac\{1\}\{2\}bh$  (triangle). Similar arguments can be used to find area formulae for the trapezoid and the rhombus, as well as more complicated polygons.

Circles

The formula for the area of a circle is based on a similar method. Given a circle of radius , it is possible to partition the circle into sectors, as shown in the figure to the right. Each sector is approximately triangular in shape, and the sectors can be rearranged to form and approximate parallelogram. The height of this parallelogram is , and the width is half the circumference of the circle, or . Thus, the total area of the circle is , or : :  (circle). Though the dissection used in this formula is only approximate, the error becomes smaller and smaller as the circle is partitioned into more and more sectors. The limit of the areas of the approximate parallelograms is exactly , which is the area of the circle.

This argument is actually a simple application of the ideas of calculus. In ancient times, the method of exhaustion was used in a similar way to find the area of the circle, and this method is now recognized as a precursor to integral calculus. Using modern methods, the area of a circle can be computed using a definite integral: :$A\; \backslash ;=\backslash ;\; \backslash int\_\{-r\}^r\; 2\backslash sqrt\{r^2\; -\; x^2\}\backslash ,dx\; \backslash ;=\backslash ;\; \backslash pi\; r^2.$

Surface area

Most basic formulae for surface area can be obtained by cutting surfaces and flattening them out. For example, if the side surface of a cylinder (or any prism) is cut lengthwise, the surface can be flattened out into a rectangle. Similarly, if a cut is made along the side of a cone, the side surface can be flattened out into a sector of a circle, and the resulting area computed.

The formula for the surface area of a sphere is more difficult: because the surface of a sphere has nonzero Gaussian curvature, it cannot be flattened out. The formula for the surface area of a sphere was first obtained by Archimedes in his work ''On the Sphere and Cylinder''. The formula is :  (sphere). where is the radius of the sphere. As with the formula for the area of a circle, any derivation of this formula inherently uses methods similar to calculus.

List of formulae

The above calculations show how to find the area of many common shapes.

The area of irregular polygons can be calculated using the "Surveyor's formula".

Additional formulae

Areas of 2-dimensional figures

a triangle: $\backslash tfrac12Bh$ (where ''B'' is any side, and ''h'' is the distance from the line on which ''B'' lies to the other vertex of the triangle). This formula can be used if the height ''h'' is known. If the lengths of the three sides are known then ''Heron's formula'' can be used: $\backslash sqrt\{s(s-a)(s-b)(s-c)\}$ where ''a'', ''b'', ''c'' are the sides of the triangle, and $s\; =\; \backslash tfrac12(a\; +\; b\; +\; c)$ is half of its perimeter. If an angle and its two included sides are given, the area is $\backslash tfrac12\; a\; b\; \backslash sin(C)$ where C is the given angle and a and b are its included sides. If the triangle is graphed on a coordinate plane, a matrix can be used and is simplified to the absolute value of $\backslash tfrac12(x\_1\; y\_2\; +\; x\_2\; y\_3\; +\; x\_3\; y\_1\; -\; x\_2\; y\_1\; -\; x\_3\; y\_2\; -\; x\_1\; y\_3)$. This formula is also known as the shoelace formula and is an easy way to solve for the area of a coordinate triangle by substituting the 3 points ''(x₁,y₁)'', ''(x₂,y₂)'', and ''(x₃,y₃)''. The shoelace formula can also be used to find the areas of other polygons when their vertices are known. Another approach for a coordinate triangle is to use Infinitesimal calculus to find the area.

a simple polygon constructed on a grid of equal-distanced points (i.e., points with integer coordinates) such that all the polygon's vertices are grid points: $i\; +\; \backslash frac\{b\}\{2\}\; -\; 1$, where ''i'' is the number of grid points inside the polygon and ''b'' is the number of boundary points. This result is known as Pick's theorem.

Area in calculus

the area between the graphs of two functions is equal to the integral of one function, ''f''(''x''), minus the integral of the other function, ''g''(''x'').

an area bounded by a function ''r'' = ''r''(θ) expressed in polar coordinates is $\{1\; \backslash over\; 2\}\; \backslash int\_0^\{2\backslash pi\}\; r^2\; \backslash ,\; d\backslash theta$.

the area enclosed by a parametric curve $\backslash vec\; u(t)\; =\; (x(t),\; y(t))$ with endpoints $\backslash vec\; u(t\_0)\; =\; \backslash vec\; u(t\_1)$ is given by the line integrals

::$\backslash oint\_\{t\_0\}^\{t\_1\}\; x\; \backslash dot\; y\; \backslash ,\; dt\; =\; -\; \backslash oint\_\{t\_0\}^\{t\_1\}\; y\; \backslash dot\; x\; \backslash ,\; dt\; =\; \{1\; \backslash over\; 2\}\; \backslash oint\_\{t\_0\}^\{t\_1\}\; (x\; \backslash dot\; y\; -\; y\; \backslash dot\; x)\; \backslash ,\; dt$ (see Green's theorem) :or the ''z''-component of

::$\{1\; \backslash over\; 2\}\; \backslash oint\_\{t\_0\}^\{t\_1\}\; \backslash vec\; u\; \backslash times\; \backslash dot\{\backslash vec\; u\}\; \backslash ,\; dt.$

Surface area of 3-dimensional figures

cube: $6s^2$, where ''s'' is the length of the top side

rectangular box: $2\; (\backslash ell\; w\; +\; \backslash ell\; h\; +\; w\; h)$ the length divided by height

cone: $\backslash pi\; r\backslash left(r\; +\; \backslash sqrt\{r^2\; +\; h^2\}\backslash right)$, where ''r'' is the radius of the circular base, and ''h'' is the height. That can also be rewritten as $\backslash pi\; r^2\; +\; \backslash pi\; r\; l$ where ''r'' is the radius and ''l'' is the slant height of the cone. $\backslash pi\; r^2$ is the base area while $\backslash pi\; r\; l$ is the lateral surface area of the cone.

prism: 2 × Area of Base + Perimeter of Base × Height

General formula

The general formula for the surface area of the graph of a continuously differentiable function $z=f(x,y),$ where $(x,y)\backslash in\; D\backslash subset\backslash mathbb\{R\}^2$ and $D$ is a region in the xy-plane with the smooth boundary: : $A=\backslash iint\_D\backslash sqrt\{\backslash left(\backslash frac\{\backslash partial\; f\}\{\backslash partial\; x\}\backslash right)^2+\backslash left(\backslash frac\{\backslash partial\; f\}\{\backslash partial\; y\}\backslash right)^2+1\}\backslash ,dx\backslash ,dy.$ Even more general formula for the area of the graph of a parametric surface in the vector form $\backslash mathbf\{r\}=\backslash mathbf\{r\}(u,v),$ where $\backslash mathbf\{r\}$ is a continuously differentiable vector function of $(u,v)\backslash in\; D\backslash subset\backslash mathbb\{R\}^2$: : $A=\backslash iint\_D\; \backslash left|\backslash frac\{\backslash partial\backslash mathbf\{r\}\}\{\backslash partial\; u\}\backslash times\backslash frac\{\backslash partial\backslash mathbf\{r\}\}\{\backslash partial\; v\}\backslash right|\backslash ,du\backslash ,dv.$

Minimization

Given a wire contour, the surface of least area spanning ("filling") it is a minimal surface. Familiar examples include soap bubbles.

The question of the filling area of the Riemannian circle remains open.

See also

Equi-areal mapping

Integral

Orders of magnitude (area)—A list of areas by size.

Perimeter

Volume

References

Notes

External links

Area formulas

Conversion cable diameter to circle cross-sectional area and vice versa

*

af:Oppervlakte als:Flächeninhalt ar:مساحة an:Aria arc:ܫܛܝܚܘܬܐ az:Sahə (ölçü parametri) zh-min-nan:Biān-chek be:Плошча be-x-old:Плошча br:Gorread bg:Площ ca:Àrea cv:Лаптăк ceb:Langyab cs:Obsah sn:Ruvanze cy:Arwynebedd da:Areal de:Flächeninhalt dv:އަކަމިން dsb:Wopśimjeśe płoni et:Pindala el:Εμβαδόν es:Área eo:Areo eu:Azalera fa:مساحت fo:Vídd fr:Aire (géométrie) gv:Eaghtyr gd:Farsaingeachd gl:Área gan:面積 gu:ક્ષેત્રફળ ko:넓이 haw:ʻAlea hi:क्षेत्रफल hsb:Wobsah přestrjenje hr:Površina io:Areo ilo:Kalawa id:Luas ia:Area os:Фæзуат is:Flatarmál it:Area he:שטח jv:Jembar ka:ფართობი kk:Алаң ku:Rûerd lo:ເນື້ອທີ່ la:Area (geometria) lv:Laukums lb:Fläch lt:Plotas li:Oppervlak ln:Etando hu:Terület (matematika) mk:Плоштина mg:Velarantany ml:വിസ്തീർണ്ണം mr:क्षेत्रफळ ms:Keluasan mwl:Ária nl:Oppervlakte ja:面積 no:Areal nn:Flatevidd oc:Aira mhr:Кумдык pfl:Fläsch km:ក្រលាផ្ទៃ nds:Flach pl:Pole powierzchni pt:Área ro:Arie qu:Hallka k'iti k'anchar ru:Площадь se:Viidodat sco:Aurie simple:Area sk:Plocha (útvar) cu:Пространиѥ sl:Površina so:Bed ckb:ڕووبەر sr:Површина sh:Površina (geometrija) fi:Pinta-ala sv:Area tl:Lawak ta:பரப்பளவு te:విస్తీర్ణము th:พื้นที่ tg:Масоҳат tr:Alan uk:Площа ur:رقبہ vi:Diện tích vls:Ippervlak war:Kahaluag wo:Yaatuwaay wuu:面积 yi:שטח yo:Ààlà zh-yue:面積 zh:面积

Name	Dean and Dan Caten
Birth date	1964
Birth place	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Label name	DSquared2
Occupation	Fashion designers }}

Dean and Dan Caten (born Dean and Dan Catenacci) are identical twin brother fashion designers and the creators of DSquared², a high-end fashion label.

Biography

Early life and career

Dean and Dan Caten were born in 1964 as Dean and Dan Catenacci in Toronto, Ontario. And grew up in the Willowdale area. They are the youngest of nine children. Their parents were from Naples, Italy.

In 1983, they moved to New York to study fashion at Parsons The New School for Design, but stayed only one semester before returning to Toronto. Finding a financial backer in 1986, they launched their first signature womenswear collection, DEanDAN. By 1988 they had signed on to label Ports International (currently Ports 1961) as creative directors to bring the company more fashion forward and upscale. At the same time, Dean and Dan designed for their lower-end, leisure brand, Tabi International. In 1991, the brothers moved to Milan, Italy where they worked as designers for the house of Gianni Versace, and denim brand Diesel, the latter of which funded and launched their namesake brand. They debuted their men's collection in 1994, and in 2003, they launched a women's collection and a men's underwear collection.

Design and fashion shows

The brothers are known for designing clothes and staging elaborate fashion shows with "explosive energy". They design men's and women's apparel, men's and women's footwear, fragrances, and cosmetics. A runway show in 2005 ended with Christina Aguilera stripping male models of their clothes. In September 2007, the DSquared² fashion show in Milan featured Rihanna entering the stage in an American muscle car, followed by a runway walk. In January 2010, the DSquared² Autumn/Winter 2010 menswear show in Milan featured Bill Kaulitz descending from the ceiling in a caged elevator à la Rocky Horror Picture Show, followed by a runway walk. Bill Kaulitz opened and closed the Dsquared2 Autumn/Winter 2010 menswear show in Milan.

Their designs have been worn by Britney Spears, Madonna, Tokio Hotel's lead singer Bill Kaulitz, Justin Timberlake, Ricky Martin, Nicolas Cage, and Lenny Kravitz. In 2000-2001, Madonna commissioned them to design over 150 pieces for her Drowned World Tour 2001 and "Don't Tell Me" music video. DSquared2's design was also featured in Britney Spears' Circus tour and Tokio Hotel's Welcome to Humanoid City tour.

They have been featured on ''America's Next Top Model'' and appeared in the music video for Fergie's "Clumsy" and The Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling" (appr. 2:43 min).

In 2006, the brothers were selected to design the new official uniforms for football team Juventus. In March 2008, Dean and Dan signed an agreement to design sunglasses with Marcolin, an Italian sunglasses and spectacle manufacturer. The collection is set to be released in 2009.

DSquared² stores

In June 2007, the first DSquared² flagship was opened in Milan's fashion district. Stores have also opened in Athens, Capri, Istanbul, Kiev, Cannes, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Awards

The Catens were awarded the 2003 GQ Men of the Year Breakout Design Award. In 2006, they received the Golden Needle Award, joining past prestigious winners such as Oscar de la Renta, Gianni Versace, Manolo Blahnik, Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano, and Tom Ford.

On June 16, 2009, it was announced that the duo would receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto. The induction ceremony was held on September 12, 2009.

Radio

The Canadian twin brothers host their own radio program called Dean and Dan on Air: Style in Stereo. The show began airing on May 5 on SiriusXM satellite radio’s BPM channel and features a variety of music (including soundtracks from select DSquared2 runway shows), along with celebrity interviews, fashion and political discussions. The show is slightly different from the BPM format but is an original vehicle that allows the twins to explore their musical side.

Television

The Caten brothers are currently co-hosts and judges of Launch My Line, a competition reality show on Bravo which began airing on December 2, 2009.

References

External links

DSquared² official website

DSquared² history

DSquared² News

Fashionwelike.com - Dsquared talk about their work and life in Milan

Category:Businesspeople in fashion Category:Canadian fashion designers Category:High fashion brands Category:1965 births Category:Living people Category:Canadian people of Italian descent

fr:Dean et Dan Caten it:Dsquared² nl:DSquared² pl:Dsquared² ru:Dsquared2

position	Centre
shoots	Left
height ft	5
height in	10
weight lb	180
birth date	March 09, 1993
birth place	Richmond Hill, ON, CAN
league	OHL
team	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
draft	77th Overall
draft year	2011
draft team	Buffalo Sabres
career start	2009
career end	}}

Daniel Catenacci (born March 9, 1993) is a Canadian ice hockey player who is currently playing with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). He was drafted first overall by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the 2009 OHL Priority Selection and by the Buffalo Sabres in the 3rd Round (77th overall) in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. He was raised in Newmarket, Ontario.

Notable awards and honours

OHL Jack Ferguson Award (2008-09) 2010 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament 2010 World U-17 Hockey Challenge – Silver Medal with Team Canada Ontario 2011 CHL Top Prospects Game – Team Orr Member 2011 IIHF World U18 Championships - Team Canada Member (2011)

References

External links

Category:1993 births Category:Canadian ice hockey centres Category:Living people Category:People from Newmarket, Ontario Category:Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds alumni

de:Daniel Catenacci

region	Western Philosophy
era	20th / 21st-century philosophy
color	#B0C4DE
name	Daniel Clement Dennett
birth date	March 28, 1942
birth place	Boston, Massachusetts
school tradition	Analytic philosophy
main interests	Philosophy of mindPhilosophy of biologyPhilosophy of scienceCognitive science
notable ideas	HeterophenomenologyIntentional stanceIntuition pumpMultiple Drafts ModelGreedy reductionism
alma mater	Harvard University (B.A.)University of Oxford (D.Phil.)
influences	Gilbert Ryle W. V. QuineWilfrid Sellars Wittgenstein Charles Darwin David Hume Alan Turing Richard Dawkins
influenced	Richard Dawkins Douglas Hofstadter Geoffrey Miller }}

Daniel Clement Dennett (born March 28, 1942) is an American philosopher, writer and cognitive scientist whose research centers on the philosophy of mind, philosophy of science and philosophy of biology, particularly as those fields relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science. He is currently the Co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies, the Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy, and a University Professor at Tufts University. Dennett is a firm atheist and secularist, a member of the Secular Coalition for America advisory board, as well as an outspoken supporter of the Brights movement. Dennett is referred to as one of the "Four Horsemen of New Atheism," along with Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens.

Early life and education

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Dennett spent part of his childhood in Lebanon, where, during World War II, his father was a covert counter-intelligence agent with the Office of Strategic Services posing as a cultural attaché to the American Embassy in Beirut. When he was five, his mother took him back to Massachusetts after his father died in an unexplained plane crash. His sister is the investigative journalist Charlotte Dennett.

He attended Phillips Exeter Academy and spent one year at Wesleyan University before receiving his Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Harvard University in 1963, where he was a student of W. V. Quine. In 1965, he received his Doctor of Philosophy in philosophy from the University of Oxford, where he studied under Gilbert Ryle and was a member of Hertford College.

Academic career

As of April 2009, Dennett is the Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy, University Professor, and Co-Director of the Center for Cognitive Studies (with Ray Jackendoff) at Tufts University.

Dennett describes himself as "an autodidact — or, more properly, the beneficiary of hundreds of hours of informal tutorials on all the fields that interest me, from some of the world's leading scientists."

He is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship, two Guggenheim Fellowships, and a Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Studies in Behavioral Science. He is a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and a Humanist Laureate of the International Academy of Humanism. He was named 2004 Humanist of the Year by the American Humanist Association.

In February 2010 he was named to the Freedom From Religion Foundation's Honorary Board of distinguished achievers.

Free will

While he is a confirmed compatibilist on free will, in "On Giving Libertarians What They Say They Want" — Chapter 15 of his 1978 book ''Brainstorms,'' Dennett articulated the case for a two-stage model of decision making in contrast to libertarian views.

The model of decision making I am proposing has the following feature: when we are faced with an important decision, a consideration-generator whose output is to some degree undetermined produces a series of considerations, some of which may of course be immediately rejected as irrelevant by the agent (consciously or unconsciously). Those considerations that are selected by the agent as having a more than negligible bearing on the decision then figure in a reasoning process, and if the agent is in the main reasonable, those considerations ultimately serve as predictors and explicators of the agent's final decision.

While other philosophers have developed two-stage models, including William James, Henri Poincaré, Arthur Holly Compton, and Henry Margenau, Dennett defends this model for the following reasons:

These prior and subsidiary decisions contribute, I think, to our sense of ourselves as responsible free agents, roughly in the following way: I am faced with an important decision to make, and after a certain amount of deliberation, I say to myself: "That's enough. I've considered this matter enough and now I'm going to act," in the full knowledge that I could have considered further, in the full knowledge that the eventualities may prove that I decided in error, but with the acceptance of responsibility in any case.

Leading libertarian philosophers such as Robert Kane have rejected Dennett's model, specifically that random chance is directly involved in a decision, on the basis that they believe this eliminates the agent's motives and reasons, character and values, and feelings and desires. They claim that, if chance is the primary cause of decisions, then agents cannot be liable for resultant actions. Kane says:

[As Dennett admits,] a causal indeterminist view of this deliberative kind does not give us everything libertarians have wanted from free will. For [the agent] does not have complete control over what chance images and other thoughts enter his mind or influence his deliberation. They simply come as they please. [The agent] does have some control ''after'' the chance considerations have occurred.

But then there is no more chance involved. What happens from then on, how he reacts, is ''determined'' by desires and beliefs he already has. So it appears that he does not have control in the ''libertarian'' sense of what happens after the chance considerations occur as well. Libertarians require more than this for full responsibility and free will.

Other philosophical views

Dennett has remarked in several places (such as "Self-portrait", in ''Brainchildren'') that his overall philosophical project has remained largely the same since his time at Oxford. He is primarily concerned with providing a philosophy of mind that is grounded in empirical research. In his original dissertation, ''Content and Consciousness'', he broke up the problem of explaining the mind into the need for a theory of content and for a theory of consciousness. His approach to this project has also stayed true to this distinction. Just as ''Content and Consciousness'' has a bipartite structure, he similarly divided ''Brainstorms'' into two sections. He would later collect several essays on content in ''The Intentional Stance'' and synthesize his views on consciousness into a unified theory in ''Consciousness Explained''. These volumes respectively form the most extensive development of his views.

In ''Consciousness Explained'', Dennett's interest in the ability of evolution to explain some of the content-producing features of consciousness is already apparent, and this has since become an integral part of his program. He defends a theory known by some as Neural Darwinism. He also presents an argument against qualia; he argues that the concept is so confused that it cannot be put to any use or understood in any non-contradictory way, and therefore does not constitute a valid refutation of physicalism. Much of Dennett's work since the 1990s has been concerned with fleshing out his previous ideas by addressing the same topics from an evolutionary standpoint, from what distinguishes human minds from animal minds (''Kinds of Minds''), to how free will is compatible with a naturalist view of the world (''Freedom Evolves''). In his 2006 book, ''Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon'', Dennett attempts to subject religious belief to the same treatment, explaining possible evolutionary reasons for the phenomenon of religious adherence.

Dennett self-identifies with a few terms:

Yet, in ''Consciousness Explained'', he admits "I am a sort of 'teleofunctionalist', of course, perhaps the original teleofunctionalist'". He goes on to say, "I am ready to come out of the closet as some sort of verificationist". In ''Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon'' he admits to being "a bright", and defends the term.

Role in evolutionary debate

Dennett sees evolution by natural selection as an algorithmic process (though he spells out that algorithms as simple as long division often incorporate a significant degree of randomness). This idea is in conflict with the evolutionary philosophy of paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould, who preferred to stress the "pluralism" of evolution (i.e. its dependence on many crucial factors, of which natural selection is only one).

Dennett's views on evolution are identified as being strongly adaptationist, in line with his theory of the intentional stance, and the evolutionary views of biologist Richard Dawkins. In ''Darwin's Dangerous Idea'', Dennett showed himself even more willing than Dawkins to defend adaptationism in print, devoting an entire chapter to a criticism of the ideas of Gould. This stems from Gould's long-running public debate with E. O. Wilson and other evolutionary biologists over human sociobiology and its descendant evolutionary psychology, which Gould and Richard Lewontin opposed, but which Dennett advocated, together with Dawkins and Steven Pinker. Strong disagreements have been launched against Dennett from Gould and his supporters, who allege that Dennett overstated his claims and misrepresented Gould's to reinforce what Gould describes as Dennett's "Darwinian fundamentalism".

Dennett's theories have had a significant influence on the work of evolutionary psychologist Geoffrey Miller. He has also written about and advocated the notion of memetics as a philosophically useful tool, most recently in his "Brains, Computers, and Minds," a three part presentation through Harvard's MBB 2009 Distinguished Lecture Series.

He has recently been doing research into clerics who are secretly atheists and how they rationalize their works. He found what he called a "Don't ask, don't tell" conspiracy because believers did not want to hear of loss of faith. That made unbelieving preachers feel isolated but they did not want to lose their jobs and sometimes their church-supplied lodgings and generally consoled themselves that they were doing good in their pastoral roles by providing comfort and required ritual. The research, with Linda LaScola, was further extended to include other denominations and non-Christian clerics.

Personal life

Dennett lives with his wife in North Andover, Massachusetts, and has a daughter, a son, and three grandchildren. He is also an avid sailor.

In October 2006, Dennett was hospitalized due to an aortic dissection. After a nine-hour surgery, he was given a new aorta. In an essay posted on the Edge website, Dennett gives his firsthand account of his health problems, his consequent feelings of gratitude towards the scientists, cardiologist, surgeons, EMT's, phlebotomists, orderlies, housekeepers, physician assistants, X-ray technicians, meal-bringers, launderers, physical therapists, perfusionist, neurologist, and nurses whose hard work made his recovery possible, and his complete lack of a "deathbed conversion". By his account, upon having been told by friends and relatives that they had prayed for him, he resisted the urge to ask them, "Did you also sacrifice a goat?"

Selected books

''Brainstorms: Philosophical Essays on Mind and Psychology'' (MIT Press 1981) (ISBN 0-262-54037-1)

''Elbow Room: The Varieties of Free Will Worth Wanting'' (MIT Press 1984) — on free will and determinism (ISBN 0-262-04077-8)

''The Mind's I'' (Bantam, Reissue edition 1985, with Douglas Hofstadter) (ISBN 0-553-34584-2)

''Content and Consciousness'' (Routledge & Kegan Paul Books Ltd; 2nd ed. January 1986) (ISBN 0-7102-0846-4)

(First published 1987)

''Consciousness Explained'' (Back Bay Books 1992) (ISBN 0-316-18066-1)

''Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life'' (Simon & Schuster; reprint edition 1996) (ISBN 0-684-82471-X)

''Kinds of Minds: Towards an Understanding of Consciousness'' (Basic Books 1997) (ISBN 0-465-07351-4)

''Brainchildren: Essays on Designing Minds (Representation and Mind)'' (MIT Press 1998) (ISBN 0-262-04166-9) — A Collection of Essays 1984–1996

''Freedom Evolves'' (Viking Press 2003) (ISBN 0-670-03186-0)

''Sweet Dreams: Philosophical Obstacles to a Science of Consciousness'' (MIT Press 2005) (ISBN 0-262-04225-8)

''Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon'' (Penguin Group 2006) (ISBN 0-670-03472-X).

''Neuroscience and Philosophy: Brain, Mind, and Language'' (Columbia University Press 2007) (ISBN 978-0-231-14044-7), co-authored with Maxwell Bennett, Peter Hacker, and John Searle

''Science and Religion'' (Oxford University Press 2010) (ISBN 0-199-73842-4), co-authored with Alvin Plantinga

See also

''The Atheism Tapes''

Cartesian materialism

''Conscious Robots''

Evolutionary psychology of religion

Greedy reductionism

Geoffrey Miller

Heterophenomenology

Intentional stance

List of Jean Nicod Prize laureates

Memetics

Multiple drafts theory of consciousness

Philosophy of Religion

American philosophy

List of American philosophers

Further reading

John Brockman (1995). ''The Third Culture''. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-80359-3 (Discusses Dennett and others).

Daniel C. Dennett (1997), "Chapter 3. True Believers: The Intentional Strategy and Why it Works", in John Haugeland, ''Mind Design II: Philosophy, Psychology, Artificial Intelligence''. Massachusetts: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ISBN 0-262-08259-4 (reprint of 1981 publication).

Andrew Brook and Don Ross (editors) (2000). ''Daniel Dennett''. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-00864-6

Don Ross, Andrew Brook and David Thompson (editors) (2000) ''Dennett's Philosophy: A Comprehensive Assessment'' Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-18200-9

John Symons (2000) ''On Dennett''. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company. ISBN 0-534-57632-X

Matthew Elton (2003). Dennett: Reconciling Science and Our Self-Conception. Cambridge, U.K: Polity Press. ISBN 0-7456-2117-1

P.M.S. Hacker and M.R. Bennett (2003) ''Philosophical Foundations of Neuroscience''. Oxford, and Malden, Mass: Blackwell ISBN 1-4051-0855-X (Has an appendix devoted to a strong critique of Dennett's philosophy of mind)

Notes

References

External links

Inside Jokes Using Humor to Reverse-Engineer the Mind Matthew M. Hurley, Daniel C. Dennett and Reginald B. Adams, Jr atThe MIT Press

Faculty webpage

Daniel C. Dennett at Internet Movie Database

Scientific American Frontiers Profile: Daniel Dennett 2000-12-19

Searchable bibliography of Dennett's works

Daniel Dennett on Information Philosopher

; Media

Edge/Third Culture: Daniel C. Dennett

Daniel Dennett multimedia files

Profile at TED several videos on dangerous memes, consciousness, others

Radio interview on ''Philosophy Talk'' 2006-01-17

The Nature of Knowledge Lecture at the University of Edinburgh 2006-03-14

On Preaching and Teaching ''The Science Network'' interview with Daniel Dennett 2007-11-02

''The Moscow Center for Consciousness Studies'' video interview with Daniel Dennett 2010-03-05

Category:1942 births Category:20th-century philosophers Category:21st-century philosophers Category:American atheists Category:American philosophers Category:Analytic philosophers Category:Atheist philosophers Category:Atheism activists Category:Cognitive scientists Category:Consciousness researchers and theorists Category:Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Category:Wesleyan University alumni Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Category:Living people Category:Memetics Category:People from Boston, Massachusetts Category:Philosophers of mind Category:Philosophers of religion Category:Philosophers of science Category:Tufts University faculty Category:Fellows of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence Category:Jean Nicod Prize laureates Category:American non-fiction writers Category:Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Category:Evolutionary psychologists Category:American skeptics Category:American humanists

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