Human beings have the unique ability to view the world in a detached way: We can think about the world in terms that transcend our own experience or interest, and consider the world from a vantage point that is, in Nagel's words, "nowhere in particular," At the same time, each of us is a
particular person in a particular place, each with his own "personal" view of the world, a view that we can recognize as just one aspect of the whole. How do we reconcile these two standpoints--intellectually, morally, and practically? To what extent are they irreconcilable and to what extent can
they be integrated? Thomas Nagel's ambitious and lively book tackles this fundamental issue, arguing that our divided nature is the root of a whole range of philosophical problems, touching, as it does, every aspect of human life. He deals with its manifestations in such fields of philosophy as:
the mind-body problem, personal identity, knowledge and skepticism, thought and reality, free will, ethics, the relation between moral and other values, the meaning of life, and death. Excessive objectification has been a malady of recent analytic philosophy, claims Nagel, it has led to implausible
forms of reductionism in the philosophy of mind and elsewhere. The solution is not to inhibit the objectifying impulse, but to insist that it learn to live alongside the internal perspectives that cannot be either discarded or objectified. Reconciliation between the two standpoints, in the end, is
not always possible.
Human beings have the unique ability to view the world in a detached way: We can think about the world in terms that transcend our own experience or interest, and consider the world from a vantage point that is, in Nagel's words, "nowhere in particular," At the same time, each of us is a
particular person in a particular place, each with his own "personal" view of the world, a view that we can recognize as just one aspect of the whole. How do we reconcile these two standpoints--intellectually, morally, and practically? To what extent are they irreconcilable and to what extent can
they be integrated? Thomas Nagel's ambitious and lively book tackles this fundamental issue, arguing that our divided nature is the root of a whole range of philosophical problems, touching, as it does, every aspect of human life. He deals with its manifestations in such fields of philosophy as:
the mind-body problem, personal identity, knowledge and skepticism, thought and reality, free will, ethics, the relation between moral and other values, the meaning of life, and death. Excessive objectification has been a malady of recent analytic philosophy, claims Nagel, it has led to implausible
forms of reductionism in the philosophy of mind and elsewhere. The solution is not to inhibit the objectifying impulse, but to insist that it learn to live alongside the internal perspectives that cannot be either discarded or objectified. Reconciliation between the two standpoints, in the end, is
not always possible.
I: Introduction
II: Mind
III: Mind and Body
IV: The Objective Self
V: Knowledge
VI: Thought and Reality
VII: Freedom
VIII: Value
IX: Ethics
X: Living Right and Living Well
XI: Birth, Death, and the Meaning of Life
Thomas Nagel is University Professor in the Department of
Philosophy and the School of Law at New York University. His books
include The Possibility of Altruism, The View from Nowhere, and
What Does It All Mean?: A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy. He
is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a
Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy. In 2008, he was
awarded the Rolf Schock Prize in Logic and
Philosophy and the Balzan Prize in Moral Philosophy.
"In writing this remarkable book, Thomas Nagel has succeeded in
combining qualities that are rarely found together. Its aims are
intellectually ambitious, and their achievement involves the
unqualified repudiation of cherished views held by many of Nagel's
more or less eminent contemporaries....He engages with precisely
those philosophical doubts and anxieties that the reflective
nonprofessional may be supposed to feel, and that are often
inadequately dealt
with by those whose professional business is philosophy."--P. F.
Strawson, The New Republic
"Remarkable....All of his discussions are clear and insightful, but
some reach a level of originality and illumination that opens
genuinely new avenues of philosophical thought....A rare
combination of profundity and clarity, along with simplicity of
expression. It should be recommended to all those who are bored
with or despair about philosophy."--Charles Taylor, Times Literary
Supplement
"At a time when so much philosophy is devoted to technical
discussion of esoteric questions, Nagel has written an original
book, accessible to any educated reader, on some of the largest
questions about our knowledge of the world and our place in
it....Those who read it will be made to question many of their
deepest beliefs, to consider new possibilities, and as a result to
become more intellectually awake."--Jonathan Glover, The New York
Review of
Books
"An illuminating book by one of the most provocative philosophers
writing today."--Religious Studies Review
"The clarity of [Nagel's] argument and the courage of his
convictions are admirable. Highly recommended."--Key Reporter
"In writing this remarkable book, Thomas Nagel has succeeded in
combining qualities that are rarely found together. Its aims are
intellectually ambitious, and their achievement involves the
unqualified repudiation of cherished views held by many of Nagel's
more or less eminent contemporaries....He engages with precisely
those philosophical doubts and anxieties that the reflective
nonprofessional may be supposed to feel, and that are often
inadequately dealt
with by those whose professional business is philosophy."--P. F.
Strawson, The New Republic
"Remarkable....All of his discussions are clear and insightful, but
some reach a level of originality and illumination that opens
genuinely new avenues of philosophical thought....A rare
combination of profundity and clarity, along with simplicity of
expression. It should be recommended to all those who are bored
with or despair about philosophy."--Charles Taylor, Times Literary
Supplement
"At a time when so much philosophy is devoted to technical
discussion of esoteric questions, Nagel has written an original
book, accessible to any educated reader, on some of the largest
questions about our knowledge of the world and our place in
it....Those who read it will be made to question many of their
deepest beliefs, to consider new possibilities, and as a result to
become more intellectually awake."--Jonathan Glover, The New York
Review of
Books
"An illuminating book by one of the most provocative philosophers
writing today."--Religious Studies Review
"The clarity of [Nagel's] argument and the courage of his
convictions are admirable. Highly recommended."--Key Reporter
"[Nagel's] clear writing style like his reasoning suggests an
at-homeness with difficult philosophical ideas and an eagerness to
reflect on them and communicate them to others."--The Thomist
|
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
