Daniel Dennett interview for Beyond Belief 2

This is part of a conference Beyond Belief: Enlightenment 2.0, which was held this past November. It is a fascinating conference (this is actually the second one in the series - the first was in 2006) and all of the lectures are available on line with high quality sound and good video (you can also buy a DVD of the event and support The Science Network). It is a good way to spend 20 hours of your life with some of the most prominent names in the field and to a second order, get an experience of actually being at the conference (minus the coffee and the food). I have gone through the lectures and in the coming weeks, I will be posting on the blog some of those directly related to science & religion.

Here is a TV interview with philosopher Daniel Dennett at the end of the conference. He is the author of, among other books, Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon and Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life. The most interesting part is about belief in belief (in God), but there is also a good discussion about consciousness, evolution of brain, and in the Q&A, about animal intelligence. Enjoy!