Multiple drafts model

Daniel Dennett's multiple drafts model helps us understand how our minds work. It is a theory about consciousness, which is the ability to feel, think, and experience the world. Dennett thought our minds work like computers that process information.

He wrote about this idea in his 1991 book Consciousness Explained. In this book, he explains that what we feel and experience depends on how our brain remembers and uses information. According to Dennett, there is no single "real" feeling or experience that stands alone. Instead, our experiences change based on how our brain processes and remembers things.

This idea is important because it helps us think about what it means to be conscious. It also connects to questions about whether machines, like computers, could ever have their own thoughts and feelings.

Thesis

Daniel Dennett's idea is that our modern view of awareness is too influenced by the thoughts of René Descartes. He uses an example called the phi illusion to explain this. In this experiment, two lights of different colors flash quickly one after the other. If the time between the flashes is very short, it looks like the first light moves to the second light's place and changes color during the move. Dennett asks how we can see the color change happen before the second light is even seen.

He says that normal ways to explain this color change lead to two ideas: Orwellian or Stalinesque. An Orwellian idea is like changing memories after events happen, similar to how records are altered in the book Nineteen Eighty-Four. A Stalinesque idea is like a trial where the result is decided before it even starts, like Joseph Stalin’s show trials.

Dennett argues that there is no good reason to choose one idea over the other because both make a wrong assumption. They both assume there is a special moment in the brain where unconscious processing becomes conscious, which he calls the "Cartesian theatre". He says there is no such moment or place in the brain for consciousness.

According to Dennett, when we experience something, our brain gets many different signals and interpretations of those signals at different times. This creates multiple versions or "drafts" of what happened. Each version can influence our actions right away without waiting to be presented in a special place in the brain.

Dennett’s view is that awareness is found in the flow of information and actions, not in one central point that holds our experiences. Different parts of the brain take control at different times. For something to become aware, it needs to have enough effect on what we say or do. The aware self is like a story we tell ourselves about our experiences.

Critical responses

Many people have different ideas about Dennett's theory. Some think it doesn’t explain things well. One person said that Dennett’s idea is like fighting a “straw man,” meaning he is attacking a simple version of a problem that nobody really believes in.

Others say that Dennett’s ideas are not really new. They say other thinkers have had similar thoughts about how our minds work. Some also say that Dennett’s view misses important parts of what it means to be conscious, like feelings and experiences.

One famous thinker, John Searle, argued that just moving information around, like in a computer, can’t create true consciousness. Dennett disagrees, saying that consciousness comes from how the whole system works together.