Most people think about philosophical problems without realizing it: What really exists? Can we know anything? Is anything really right or wrong? Does life have any meaning? Is death the end of everything? These problems have been written about for thousands of years, but the philosophical raw material comes directly from the world and our relation to it. In this remarkable book distinguished philosopher Thomas Nagel leads the reader into the heart of nine of these central problems of philosophy. In vivid, accessible prose, he brings the issues to life, demonstrating why they have continued to baffle and fascinate countless thinkers across the centuries. What Does It All Mean? challenges us to think hard and think clearly; to ask questions, to argue, to try out ideas and raise possible objections to them - in a word, to become philosophers ourselves.
Reviews
'If someone confronts you with the problem "Get me an introduction to philosophy and I have only one evening free to read it", I can recommend Thomas Nagel's introduction. If for the umpteemth time you are asked "What is philosophy all about", tell him or her to read this book... how would you go about explaining the complex relation between a determinisic world-view and the free will problem? Thomas Nagel shows how it can be done and quite impressively so.'Philosophica
'His style is clear and free of technical terms, and the book should appeal to those who know little or nothing of the discipline.' Library Journal
'Mr Nagel is well known among academic philosophers for bringng the clarity and rigor of analytic philosophy to such "large" philosophical questions.' Roger Kimball,
'The author is blessed with an ability rare in his discipline to combine rigour with good humour, and variety of approach with simplicity of expression. The most welcome thing about the book is that it presents the core questions of philosophy to the beginner without the deterrent baggage of names and -isms.' Anne McElvoy, The Times
'I don't know how many will find their way into philosophy via Nagel's Very Short Introduction, but it will be enough fully to justify the efforts of everyone involved.' Times Literary Supplement
'His style is deceptively simple, concealing the profundity of the thought, and is luminously clear. His chatty, easy way of writing goes with a rigorous logic of argument ... Nagel has given us an admirable challenge to what the Greeks called 'the unexamined life'.' Cogito



Book Information
ISBN 9780195052923
Author Thomas Nagel
Format Hardback
Page Count 108
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 280g
Dimensions(mm) 217mm * 145mm * 14mm