Daniel Dennett's Pathetic Fallacy

Mo Rocca has appeared on a bunch of shows, including 'The Daily Show,' 'I Love the 80s,'...

Mo Rocca Feed

Daniel Dennett's Pathetic Fallacy

Posted Jan 7th 2008 12:02AM by Dinesh D'Souza
Filed under: Science, Christianity, Controversy, Atheism

Following my debate with Daniel Dennett, several atheists described Dennett's performance as "pathetic." If you want to see if they are right, you can watch the debate here. The term "pathetic," however, can be used in more than one sense. The Pathetic Fallacy (also called the Anthropomorphic Fallacy) is a term of art that refers to the error of attributing human qualities to inanimate objects. A brilliant recent book argues that this fallacy lies at the heart of the work of thinkers like Daniel Dennett.
Reading Dennett and others, you get the impression that science has demonstrated the material foundations of the human mind. Indeed we as humans are nothing more than atoms and molecules, and our self-conception is a kind of illusion generated by the neurons firing in our heads. Ultimately it is to evolution that we must turn, in Dennett's view, to understand who we are and how we function.

But in Philosophical Foundations of Neuroscience, Maxwell Bennett and Peter Hacker challenge this materialist understanding as promoted by Dennett and others. Bennett is a leading neuroscientist at the University of Sydney. He also directs the Brain and Mind Research Institute. Reviewing the state of scientific knowledge about the brain, Bennett concludes that the notion that science currently has "major insights into the workings of the synaptic networks in any part of the brain" is both "misplaced" and the product of "hubris." According to Bennett, who knows what he is talking about, Dennett and other non-scientists are portraying science as having figured out things that science is a very long way from figuring out.

Peter Hacker, an Oxford philosopher who is considered the world's leading authority on Wittgenstein, takes Dennett and like-minded writers to task for attributing to an inanimate object, namely the brain, qualities that are properly assigned to human beings like you and me. Hacker cites Dennett as claiming that brains are conscious and gather information and make simplifying assumptions and use supporting information and arrive at conclusions. Hacker argues that this is a classic case of the pathetic fallacy.

In Hacker's view, brains aren't conscious; we are conscious. Brains don't gather or use information; human beings do. Brains don't draw conclusions; you and I do. Of course we use our brains to perceive and reason, just as we use our hands and feet to play tennis. But it is just as absurd to say that my hands and feet are playing tennis as it is to say that my racket is playing tennis. By the same token it is wrong to portray the brain as perceiving, thinking or even being aware of anything.

If it is humans that possess the qualities that Dennett and others attribute to the brain, it follows that the brain is an inanimate object, like the pancreas. We as human beings function with and through the operation of these devices, but it hardly follows that we are "nothing more" than the sum total of them. Materialism--the doctrine that reduces man to his material makeup--is revealed not as a necessary conclusion of modern science but rather as as atheist dogma masquerading as science.

Permalink
Email this
Linking Blogs
Comments [875]
Share this
- Add this post to...
- Netscape
- Digg
- Del.icio.us

Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 59)

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Most Recent | Next 15 Comments

1. This was a debate won not by ideas, but by eloquence. Like said by your beloved Dawkins, you shrikes like a preacher... and Dennet, well, he is such a poor spokesman.

When Dawkins pointed out that you need to increase the decibels to make your point, I found it funny. I usually don't agree with him, but it was exactly what I was thinking when I saw your debate with Dennet.

It's like when Hitchens riducules the other part but offering only retorical performance to the public.

This isn't a contribution to the debate at all, and you could be more focused in good arguments. You proved you can have some good arguments some of the time, so I presume you can do better than that.

danieldrehmer at 9:59AM on May 19th 2008

2. I cannot believe there are people out there ,that call themselves scientists that belive things like this.
Is this the begining of the antichrist.

MR.Dinesh I enjoy reading your blogs and look foward to them.

God bless.

anna at 3:41AM on Jan 7th 2008

3. Dinesh

It's nice to see the smug self-satisfaction of arrogant self-righteous atheists like Dennett dissolve into embarrassing mumbling when confronted with the kind of intlleigent arguments that you present.

Obviously, Dennett and others like him are used to audiences of unquestioning followers who hang on to their every word without challenging the basis for the assumptions that they put forward.

Keep up the good work.

Stig at 4:00AM on Jan 7th 2008

4. ATHEIST

Here are some topics you didn't cover in your debate.

GHOSTS APPEARING TO THEIR OLD GIRLFRIENDS IN CEMETARIES

INVISIBLE DEMONIC SPIRITS

MEN LIVING IN TOMBS WHILE POSSESSED BY DEMONIC SPIRITS

A GLOBAL FLOOD

ANGELS

WALKING ON WATER

TREES BEARING FRUIT ON EARTH BEFORE STARS WERE MADE

The only problem I see with Dennett's approach... is he made the mistake of respecting your ridiculous Christian beliefs.

Instead of attacking you as a FOOL who is afraid to tell the Truth.

The world did NOT end before 120 AD, as the words attributed to Jesus predicted.

William Hays at 4:22AM on Jan 7th 2008

5. ATHEIST

http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/health/alzheim/brain.gif

Reply to: It is wrong to portray the brain as perceiving, thinking or even being aware of anything

In Hacker's view, brains aren't conscious; we are conscious. Brains don't gather or use information; human beings do.

Brains don't draw conclusions; you and I do...
_________________

Actually, we were discussing this point earlier.

If you get a chance, visit a retirement home. Or a hospital with a geriatrics wing.

Stick around long enough to hear an elderly patient who won't stop screaming in fear, because they can't remember where they are.

http://www.usc.edu/schools/medicine/departments/psychiatry_behavioralsciences/research/gsc/research/adrc_brainstudy.php

LINNK: The autopsy is a systematic and detailed examination of the body and its organs after death. It includes a careful examination of tissues and cells under the microscope. An autopsy provides important information about normal aging, as well as many pathological conditions such as atherosclerosis, infections, tumors, inflammation, strokes, heart attacks. Complete autopsies often provide clues and evidence regarding the cause of death. The USC ADRC Brain Research Program, however, does not include a complete autopsy but focuses mainly on the brain and a few other selected body tissues. The limited brain autopsy may include the brain and other body tissues, including the spinal cord, eyes and samples of other internal organs (e.g., muscle, heart, lungs and liver). We examine these tissues because some of the changes associated with Alzheimer disease, cerebrovascular disease, and other related dementia also affect tissues other than the brain itself.
_________

If the brain isn't aware of anything, why do they autopsy a brain to gain knowledge about Alzheimer's?

dinesh, you're a disgrace.

William Hays at 4:33AM on Jan 7th 2008

6. I've never seen anybody proclaim himself the winner as often or as smugly as Dinesh. If he's what being Christian is all about, I think I'll pass.

Edward Wenskovitch at 4:36AM on Jan 7th 2008

7. ATHEIST

A comparison of a normal brain vs. Alzheimer's disease.

The WHOLE person may appear normal, but the brain has obvious changes.

http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh25-4/254images/300.jpg

http://www.geriatricsandaging.ca/ga_folder_new/august_2001/rotman_brain.gif

In the year 2000, Billy Graham, age 81 years was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.

*** An MRI of the brain revealed that he had a condition called Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (abbreviated NPH), a condition that, in some ways resembles PD, and that, in some people may co-exist with PD. NPH may be suspected when a person with PD does not respond to PD drugs, or when the response is less than satisfactory, or when there is a sudden, unexplained worsening of the PD, or

**** when confusion and disorientation appear. ****

NPH, after it’s diagnosed, can be treated with a shunt. This is a neuro-surgical procedure in which a catheter is placed into the ventricles (a system of fluid reservoirs, or lakes, inside the brain) the extra-fluid, the reason for the NPH is drained away (usually into the belly or the chest). In June 2000, the Reverend Billy Graham underwent a shunt at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota with dramatic improvement in his symptoms

http://www.parkinsonresearchfoundation.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=354&Itemid=104

_________

Billy Graham developed a condition in his brain. How did it change his behavior?

Any clue, Dinesh?

Did the entire PERSON change? or just his brain?

William Hays at 4:47AM on Jan 7th 2008

8. ATHEIST

This diagram of the brain shows several structures related to Parkinson's disease.

Basal ganglia affect normal movement and walking; substantia nigra are types of basal ganglia that produce the neurotransmitter dopamine, which sends messages that control muscles. The globus pallidus is part of a larger structure connected to the substantia nigra affecting movement, balance and walking. The thalamus serves as a relay station for brain impulses, and the cerebellum affects muscle coordination.

Reply to: In Hacker's view, brains aren't conscious; we are conscious. Brains don't gather or use information; human beings do
____________

PICK'S DISEASE or FRONTO-TEMPORAL DEMENTIA: Like Alzheimer's disease, this disorder causes progressive and irreversible decline in a person's abilities over a number of years. As the name suggests, these disorders affect mainly the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain and usually begins between 40 to 65 years of age. Disturbances of personality, behavior (particularly a lack of inhibition) and language difficulties may precede the memory defects

PROGRESSIVE SUPRANUCLEAR PALSY (PSP): This is an under-recognized brain disorder in which symptoms typically begin in one’s 60’s, but can start as early as the 40’s. Those affected usually survive six to ten years after the initial symptoms occur. In people with PSP, gradual loss of certain brain cells causes slowing of movement and reduced control of walking, balance, swallowing, speaking, and eye movement (especially up-gaze). People with PSP eventually become wheelchair bound or bedridden

http://www.susqneuro.com/publications/iconoclasm/EXECU_files/image014.gif

In the normal brain, some nerve cells produce the chemical dopamine, which transmits signals within the brain to produce smooth movement of muscles. In Parkinson's patients, 80 percent or more of these dopamine-producing cells are damaged, dead, or otherwise degenerated. This causes the nerve cells to fire wildly, leaving patients unable to control their movements. Symptoms usually show up in one or more of four ways:

tremor, or trembling in hands, arms, legs, jaw, and face
rigidity, or stiffness of limbs and trunk
bradykinesia, or slowness of movement
postural instability or impaired balance and coordination

http://www.fda.gov/Fdac/features/1998/498_pd.html

http://www.gabehavioral.com/Assets/PET%20Scan%20Pick's%20Disease%20255.png

ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE: Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting about 4.5 million men and women in the United States. In its early phases, its symptoms can be subtle, like memory loss and vagueness, taking longer to do routine tasks, losing the point of a conversation or repeating oneself. In people with Alzheimer's disease, abnormal changes to nerve structures in the brain cause the communication pathways within the brain to break down and ultimately, become permanently disconnected. When messages can no longer be transmitted properly, brain cells may die. As a result, certain aspects of brain function that control memory, behavior, personality, and other bodily functions, can be lost

William Hays at 5:00AM on Jan 7th 2008

9. The world did NOT end before 120 AD, as the words attributed to Jesus predicted.

William Hays at 4:22AM on Jan 7th 2008

WILLIAM, STOP MAKING UP FAIRY TALES. JESUS NEVER SAID WHEN THE WORLD WILL END. HE DOESN'T KNOW. ONLY GOD KNOWS THE HOUR.

DENA at 5:06AM on Jan 7th 2008

10. ATHEIST

On today's blog, dinesh said:

the brain is an inanimate object, like the pancreas. We as human beings function with and through the operation of these devices, but it hardly follows that we are "nothing more" than the sum total of them
_____________

At 88, Billy Graham is grappling with the infirmities of age -- Parkinson's disease, prostate cancer, broken bones -- and the hospital bed accommodates his frail body. Graham has had several brain operations and has shunts in his head to manage hydrocephalus.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0506/16/lkl.01.html

GRAHAM: The biggest problem I have is hydrocephalus, which is

*** too much fluid on the brain, ****

and they discovered that about four or five years ago at Mayo's, and they operated to put a stent in, but it didn't go right. And I had to have three -- four operations in the brain.

KING: And where's the prostate cancer? It hasn't spread?

GRAHAM: The prostate cancer is still there.

GRAHAM: I was at the Mayo Clinic when I fell. I was there for a checkup, and I fell, and had a wonderful lady doctor that operated on me at midnight. While I was getting better from that, beginning to walk with a walker, and I fell again, and broke my pelvic bone in three places, and that has taken me the longest.

_____________

Dinesh, you're not exactly a brain surgeon.

You don't understand how the brain works, or you would never have posted the nonsense you wrote.

actually, dinesh, you're one of the less interesting writers that I've read. If you would try to understand the issues involved, instead of just posting uninformed opinions, you would do much better.

William Hays at 5:12AM on Jan 7th 2008

11. ATHEIST

Actually, the real Jesus never predicted the End of the World (that we know about.)

but the words attributed to Jesus in the New Testament gospels.... promise that the world will end BEFORE 120 AD.

William Hays at 5:14AM on Jan 7th 2008

12. ATHEIST

A human being does not think in any other part of his body except his brain.

PET and Parkinson's Disease

The symptoms of Parkinson's disease result from a deterioration of the metabolic pathways in the area of the brain called the substantia nigra. Cells in this part of the brain produce dopamine, a chemical that transfers messages in the brain. Lack of dopamine disrupts the ability of the brain to direct or control movements normally.

Using an imaging drug that is like dopamine (18F-DOPA), the PET scan will show changes in this dopaminergic systems. In Parkinson's disease, the PET scan shows a characteristic pattern of reduced uptake for 18F-DOPA, and it begins to appear very early in the course of the disease.

This enables doctors to know if the gradually increasing symptoms that may be a tremor, gait disturbance, or others are the result of Parkinson's disease or some other cause. Therapy can be started at its earliest possible stage.

PET can indicate with a high degree of accuracy if a movement disorder is Parkinson's disease or another type of disorder

http://z.about.com/f/p/440/graphics/images/en/19515.jpg
http://www.medgadget.com/archives/img/43642neuro.jpg

William Hays at 5:22AM on Jan 7th 2008

13. William...
I see today, and yesterday, you address the people you answer as, "Atheist", which is what they are... but not who they are... They have a name at the bottom of their post.

I address you as William, because that is who you are, not what you are.

The fact is proven that without our brain we can't think, it doesn't take a Doctor too much effort is establish that as a fact.

Atheism is not a religion, it just means you do not beleive in something. I don't believe in CAFTA either. What label do you want to put on that?

The problem with religion, especially with Christians and Muslems, is they have nothing but sex, violence, killing, torture, damnation, magic, and mythology in their "Holy books".

You people are so blind, you are so helpless, you need to depend on mythology and fairy tales to muddle your way through life.

The nut in the article was trying to use science to disprove a God.. No need, history proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the entire new testament was taken from the Egyptians 3000 yrs befor Christ.

No science needed here, just a brain that can think.
Thank you for your time.....WILLIAM

ron at 6:47AM on Jan 7th 2008

14. ron, not to speak for William, but he is identifying himself as an atheist.

Has anyone noticed how inanimate DD's brain is? How can someone who is supposed to be educated even attempt to say that parts of the human body are inanimate? Does he have any idea what 'inanimate' means?

Allow me;

inanimate

adjective
1. belonging to the class of nouns denoting nonliving things; "the word 'car' is inanimate" [ant: animate]
2. not endowed with life; "the inorganic world is inanimate"; "inanimate objects" [ant: animate]
3. appearing dead; not breathing or having no perceptible pulse; "an inanimate body"; "pulseless and dead"

a born atheist at 7:44AM on Jan 7th 2008

15. How can you evaluate what other people are saying if you don't even have a basic grasp of the language? No wonder he falls for 'con games'.

a born atheist at 7:52AM on Jan 7th 2008

| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Most Recent | Next 15 Comments

Add your comments

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags.

Mo's Video

The Sound of a Smoke-Free Barack...
Almost two years ago we speculated on how Barack Obama's voice would change if he stopped smoking. ...

Coming Soon

Most Commented On

Coming Soon

Mo's Bio

Mo Rocca appears on a bunch of shows, including CBS News Sunday Morning (with the indescribably wonderful Charles Osgood), The Tonight Show on NBC, and NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! He's a sometime judge on Iron Chef and was featured on Telemundo's Amore Descarado. Last year he starred on Broadway in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. His expose "All the President's Pets" was published by Crown in 2004.