Daniel Dennett

Philosopher Daniel Dennett is one of the leading New Atheists and a champion of the idea that evolution is an all-encompassing worldview. He lays out this position in his influential book, Darwin’s Dangerous Idea. He has contributed significantly to the understanding of the conceptual foundations of evolutionary biology and has written numerous books and more than 300 scholarly articles. In Breaking the Spell, Dennett offers an evolutionary explanation for religious adherence, and in Freedom Evolves and Darwin's Dangerous Idea, he argues that evolution is a “universal acid” that dissolves and reforms culture and science itself, including our concept of religion. He has been criticized for failing to recognize any of the good done in the name of religion and for using excessively speculative arguments for how religion originated. Dennett is a professor of philosophy and directs the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University.