Category: Nagel, Thomas
-
Can Reason Be Understood Naturalistically? More Notes on Nagel
This is the third in a series of posts on Thomas Nagel's Mind and Cosmos (Oxford 2012). The first is an overview, and the second addresses Nagel's reason for rejecting theism. This post will comment on some of the content in Chapter 4, "Cognition." In Chapter 4, Nagel tackles the topic of reason, both theoretical and…
-
Nagel’s Reason for Rejecting Theism
This is the second in a series. My overview of Thomas Nagel's new book, Mind and Cosmos, is here. I agree with Nagel that mind is not a cosmic accident. Mind in all of its ramifications (sentience, intentionality, self-awareness, cognition, rationality, normativity in general) could not have arisen from mindless matter. To put it very roughly,…
-
Thomas Nagel, Mind and Cosmos: Overview
I think I shall have to write a number of posts on this exciting and idea-rich book by one of our best philosophers. Here is the first. Short (128 pp.) and programmatic, Thomas Nagel's new book explores the prospects of an approach in the philosophy of mind that is naturalistic yet not materialistic. His approach is…