Who is Daniel Dennett in the Epstein files?

Daniel Dennett was a prominent American philosopher and cognitive scientist at Tufts University, considered one of the 'Four Horsemen' of New Atheism alongside Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens. He appears in the Epstein documents primarily as a participant in the Edge Foundation's intellectual network, a science salon organized by literary agent John Brockman that Epstein helped fund. Dennett passed away in April 2024.

Did Daniel Dennett fly on Jeffrey Epstein's plane?

Yes, in 2002 Dennett accepted a ride on Epstein's private jet to attend the TED conference in Monterey, California, along with Steven Pinker, Richard Dawkins, and John Brockman. Dennett later stated that he had never heard of Epstein when accepting the offer and described the flight as 'uneventful,' with Epstein staying 'pretty much to himself.' He emphasized that he was 'not clairvoyant' about who he might encounter and expressed support for Epstein's victims.

What was Daniel Dennett's connection to John Brockman and the Edge Foundation?

Dennett was a longtime participant in John Brockman's Edge Foundation, an exclusive intellectual salon that brought together prominent scientists, philosophers, and thinkers. He was featured as one of the 'third-culture intellectuals' Brockman promoted, appeared as a speaker at Edge seminars, and was regularly invited to Edge dinners and events. Brockman, Dennett's literary agent, played a significant role in shaping his career and public profile, which is why Dennett—like many other prominent academics—later had to address questions about associations with Epstein through the Edge network.

How many times does Daniel Dennett appear in the Epstein documents?

Dennett appears 95 times across 94 documents. However, the majority of these mentions are in mass email distributions, newsletters, and group invitations to Edge Foundation events where he was one of many intellectuals included. The documents show him as a frequent invitee to intellectual gatherings but contain no evidence of personal correspondence with Epstein, financial transactions, or a direct relationship beyond participation in Edge Foundation activities that Epstein funded or attended.

Who is Daniel Dennett in the Epstein files?

Daniel Dennett was a prominent American philosopher and cognitive scientist at Tufts University, considered one of the 'Four Horsemen' of New Atheism alongside Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens. He appears in the Epstein documents primarily as a participant in the Edge Foundation's intellectual network, a science salon organized by literary agent John Brockman that Epstein helped fund. Dennett passed away in April 2024.

Did Daniel Dennett fly on Jeffrey Epstein's plane?

Yes, in 2002 Dennett accepted a ride on Epstein's private jet to attend the TED conference in Monterey, California, along with Steven Pinker, Richard Dawkins, and John Brockman. Dennett later stated that he had never heard of Epstein when accepting the offer and described the flight as 'uneventful,' with Epstein staying 'pretty much to himself.' He emphasized that he was 'not clairvoyant' about who he might encounter and expressed support for Epstein's victims.

What was Daniel Dennett's connection to John Brockman and the Edge Foundation?

Dennett was a longtime participant in John Brockman's Edge Foundation, an exclusive intellectual salon that brought together prominent scientists, philosophers, and thinkers. He was featured as one of the 'third-culture intellectuals' Brockman promoted, appeared as a speaker at Edge seminars, and was regularly invited to Edge dinners and events. Brockman, Dennett's literary agent, played a significant role in shaping his career and public profile, which is why Dennett—like many other prominent academics—later had to address questions about associations with Epstein through the Edge network.

How many times does Daniel Dennett appear in the Epstein documents?

Dennett appears 95 times across 94 documents. However, the majority of these mentions are in mass email distributions, newsletters, and group invitations to Edge Foundation events where he was one of many intellectuals included. The documents show him as a frequent invitee to intellectual gatherings but contain no evidence of personal correspondence with Epstein, financial transactions, or a direct relationship beyond participation in Edge Foundation activities that Epstein funded or attended.

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Daniel Dennett

Person

Also known as:

Daniel DennettDan DennettDANIEL DENNETT

Total Mentions

Documents

2,386

Connected Entities

American philosopher (1942–2024)

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Daniel Dennett (1942–2024), the renowned American philosopher and cognitive scientist from Tufts University, appears in Epstein documents primarily through his association with John Brockman's Edge Foundation intellectual network, including one confirmed flight on Epstein's jet in 2002 to a TED conference.

Dennett appears in 95 mentions across 94 documents, with the majority being Edge Foundation-related correspondence and event planning emails. The most substantive mentions include confirmed attendance at Edge seminars and dinners sponsored or attended by Epstein, notably a 2002 flight on Epstein's plane to TED in Monterey alongside Steven Pinker, Richard Dawkins, and John Brockman. However, many of Dennett's appearances are in mass email distributions, automated newsletters, and group invitations to Edge events where he was one of many intellectuals on distribution lists. Two emails show him declining invitations to Cambridge events. Dennett publicly stated in 2019 that he had 'never heard' of Epstein when accepting the 2002 flight offer and that the flight was 'uneventful' with Epstein staying 'pretty much to himself.'

Key Highlights

•Confirmed presence on Epstein's private jet in 2002 to TED conference, alongside Pinker, Dawkins, and Brockman
•Frequent participant in Edge Foundation events and seminars that Epstein helped fund (Edge received at least $455,000 from Epstein between 1998-2005)
•Appears primarily in group email distributions for intellectual gatherings, often listed alongside 20-30+ other scientists and thinkers
•Publicly declined at least one Cambridge event invitation where Epstein was organizing
•No evidence of one-on-one correspondence, financial transactions, or personal relationship with Epstein beyond group intellectual events

Frequently Asked Questions

Document Mentions (20 of 94)

EFTA00694840.pdf

EFTA00694840

2 mentions

llaborate with each other. Everybody wants the Yanomamo in their portfolio." EDGE Video [30:43] PART TWO: NAPOLEON CHAGNON & RICHARD WRANGHAM (WITH DANIEL C. DENNETT & DAVID HAIG) "What I've discovered is that life was very much filled with terror of your neighbors, constantly in a position— sort of like Hobbes' arg

Dawkins, from the Introduction NAPOLEON CHAGNON: BLOOD IS THEIR ARGUMENT An Edge Special Event Napoleon Chagnon, Steven Pinker, Richard Wrangham, Daniel C. Dennett, David Haig Introduction by Richard Dawkins Permalink: http://www.edge.org/conversation/napoleon-chagnon-blood-is-their-argument [Thanks to Steven

EFTA00384903.pdf

EFTA00384903

1 mention

ey Groff c1 JE, In car to airport. ON cell. About to call you. Here's the list to date, and below is the plan. JB CONFIRMED Nicholas Christakis Daniel Dennett Jennifer Jacquet Danny Kahneman Joshua Knobe Rob Kurzban David Pizarro Anne Treisman EFTA00384903 John Brockman Katinka Matson Max Brockman

EFTA00779091.pdf

EFTA00779091

1 mention

man < JE, Fyi, JB > From: John Brockman > Date: August 28, 2010 10:54:37 PM EDT > To: Jerry Coyne < >, Richard Dawkins <[email protected]>, "Daniel C. Dennett" Daniel Kahneman , Steven Pinker • , Matt Ridley wrote: > Subject: Fyi - Hauser > Eastover Faun >> » From: mare hauser >> Date: August 28, 20

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EFTA00364885.pdf

EFTA00364885

1 mention

, In car to airport. ON cell. About to call you. Here's the list to date, and below is the plan. JB EFTA00364885 CONFIRMED Nicholas Christakis Daniel Dennett Jennifer Jacquet Danny Kahneman Joshua Knobe Rob Kurzban David Pizarro Anne Treisman John Brockman Katinka Matson Max Brockman REGRETS Adam

EFTA00320140.pdf

EFTA00320140

1 mention

Sept. 9th and the event continues on to Sat. Sept. 10th ending with the dinner at 6:30? Hope all is well. Lesley To: Rodney Brooks, George Church, Daniel Dennett, Freeman Dyson, Peter Galison, Neil Gershenfeld, Virginia Heffeman, W. Daniel Hillis, Joi Ito, David Kaiser, Azra Raza, Jaan Tallin, Max Tegmark, Cr

EFTA00320136.pdf

EFTA00320136

1 mention

liant and who says hello. Let's talk later. Here's and email I sent out this morning. Want to come? sure invited. To: Rodney Brooks, George Church, Daniel Dennett, Freeman Dyson, Peter Galison, Neil Gershenfeld, Virginia Heffeman, W. Daniel Hillis, Joi Ito, David Kaiser, Azra Raza, Jaan Tallin, Max Tegmark, Cr

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EFTA00346338.pdf

EFTA00346338

1 mention

e list Rod Brooks Danny Hillis (just bought a house in Cambridge and living there) George Church Sendhil Mullainathan Stephen Wolfram Declined Dan Dennett Steve Pinker JB EFTA00346338

EFTA00642538.pdf

EFTA00642538

1 mention

e list Rod Brooks Danny Hillis (just bought a house in Cambridge and living there) George Church Sendhil Mullainathan Stephen Wolfram Declined Dan Dennett Steve Pinker JB EFTA00642538

EFTA00390931.pdf

EFTA00390931

1 mention

(where, exactly is Canberra?) 2. Just back from Cambridge - EDGE interrogates Napoleon Chagnon! Amazing day. 3 hours of video - coming soon, L-R: Dan Dennett, Napoleon Chagnon, David Haig, Steven Pinker, Richard Wrangham, JB EFTA00390931 3. THINK ABOUT NATURE (working title) A Conversation with Lee Smo

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EFTA00401809.pdf

EFTA00401809

1 mention

, "V.S. Ramachandran" Gino SeSegeeil Turok , Shing-Tung Yau Edge preview - David Deutsch's Constructor Theory , Jeff Bezos , George Church , "Daniel C. Dennett" Ginevra Elkann >, Jeffrey Epstein , Bill Gates >, "W. Daniel Hillis" , Daniel Kahneman , Salar Kamangar • , Nick Pritzker , Crai Mundie ,

EFTA00692023.pdf

EFTA00692023

1 mention

based on his new book The Big Picture, which is set to place him alongside our greatest humanist thinkers from Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan to Daniel Dennett and E.O. Wilson. In this talk Sean Carroll will break down how the universe works at the quantum, cosmic and human levels, and link them together

EFTA00740586.pdf

EFTA00740586

1 mention

dis Jeffrey Epsteli Brewster Kahle Khosla Lori Pliego Simon , Stewart Brand Sergey Min Brooks Steve Case , Chris DiBona Richard Dawkins "Daniel C. Dennett" Peter John Doerr yson , Freeman Dyso son [email protected]>. Tony FadeII • , Bill Gates Timo Hannay < , Maja Hoffmann Bill Jo Joichi

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EFTA00740603.pdf

EFTA00740603

1 mention

To: Jeff Bezos Geor e Church Diamandi , Stewart Brand , Sergey Brin Brooks <[email protected]>, Steve Case , Chris DiBona Richard Dawkins "Daniel C. Dennett" Peter John Doerr • Esther Dyson , Freeman Dyson Jeffrey Epstein [email protected]>. Tony Fadell , Timo Hannay < Brewster Kahl Khosla Lo

EFTA00775409.pdf

EFTA00775409

1 mention

ssee at Knoxville - Joscha Bach, Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabruck, Germany -- Paul Bello, Office of Naval Research (ONR) -- Daniel Dennett, Tufts University -- Stan Franklin, Institute for Intelligent Systems, University of Memphis -- Ben Goertzel, Novamente LLC -- J. Storrs Hall, For

EFTA00479127.pdf

EFTA00479127

1 mention

ld at Winvian Farm (winvian.com) in Morris, CT September 7th-9th. The participants in the book are Chris Anderson, Rodney Brooks, George M. Church, Daniel C. Dennett, David Deutsch, Anca Dragan, George Dyson, Peter Galison, Neil Gershenfeld, Alison Gopnik, Tom Griffiths, Danny Hillis, Caroline A. Jones, David Ka

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EFTA00805711.pdf

EFTA00805711

1 mention

n nature's information wars. ISSUE os Fame Why is "Honey Boo-Boo" a megastar? Fame can seem an empty category. But it also shows up everywhere. Daniel Dennett has described consciousness as the happy spoils of a competition among various representations of reality. "fame in the brain." Is fame an importan

EFTA00805690.pdf

EFTA00805690

1 mention

EFTA00820489.pdf

EFTA00820489

1 mention

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EFTA00820510.pdf

EFTA00820510

1 mention

EFTA00261202.pdf

EFTA00261202

1 mention

r Gallery Eric ogle http://www.edge.org/documents/dinners/dinner_index.html 3/13/2006 EFTA00261225 :HE EDGE DINNER: 1998 - 2006 Page 5 of 12 Daniel C. Dennett Steven Pinker NEWYORKMETRO.COM NigoRicemn) This media life My Dinner with Rupert By Michael Wolff Stewart Brand Mitch Kapor Rupert kept takin

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Connected Entities(20 of 2,386)

Jeffrey Epstein