Who really said it
Sweet Dreams: Philosophical Obstacles to a Science of Consciousness, cited p. 2 (2005)
Last verified 9 Nov 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?
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Verified quote & credit
“Not a single one of the cells that compose you knows who you are, or cares” — Daniel Dennett, Sweet Dreams (2005), p. 2; extracted clause, with its initial capitalization adjusted.
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In context
Evoking the world of Daniel Dennett — 1942–2024. Theme: "Not a single one of the cells that compose you knows who you are, or cares". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.
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Provenance
Not a single one of the cells that compose you knows who you are, or cares. Short excerpt
An extracted clause from a longer sentence; the source begins it with lower-case “not.”
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Context
Sweet Dreams revisits Dennett’s account of consciousness in light of later scientific and philosophical work. Its publisher describes a model in which consciousness emerges from distributed processes rather than a single central theater. The cells sentence illustrates the explanatory contrast between a whole person and the parts from which a person is composed.
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Printed page 2 contains the quoted clause in its argument about cells and a conscious person; PDF hosted on a third-party mirror.
Transcribes Dennett passages and identifies the containing books; secondary quotation reference.
Describes the book’s argument and later 2006 paperback edition; does not display page 2.
Institutional memorial documents Dennett’s long Tufts career, fields of research and death in 2024.
Documents his dates and work in philosophy of mind and cognitive science; biographical context only.
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For writers & researchers
Sweet Dreams: Philosophical Obstacles to a Science of Consciousness, cited p. 2. 2005.
Quotle.info. Who really said 'Not a single one of the cells that compose you knows who you are, or cares'? Last verified 9 Nov 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/not-a-single-one-of-the-cells-that-compose-you-knows-who/