The View From Nowhere

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Epistemology
Cover of the book The View From Nowhere by Thomas Nagel, Oxford University Press, USA
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Thomas Nagel ISBN: 9780199878628
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA Publication: January 23, 1986
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Thomas Nagel
ISBN: 9780199878628
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Publication: January 23, 1986
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

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.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

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.

More books from Oxford University Press, USA

Cover of the book Without Copyrights: Piracy, Publishing, and the Public Domain by Thomas Nagel
Cover of the book Arnold J. Toynbee:A Life by Thomas Nagel
Cover of the book Is There Anything Good About Men? : How Cultures Flourish By Exploiting Men by Thomas Nagel
Cover of the book The Number Sense : How the Mind Creates Mathematics by Thomas Nagel
Cover of the book Unbecoming British : How Revolutionary America Became a Postcolonial Nation by Thomas Nagel
Cover of the book Two Billion Cars : Driving Toward Sustainability by Thomas Nagel
Cover of the book Golden Harvest:Events at the Periphery of the Holocaust by Thomas Nagel
Cover of the book China in the 21st Century:What Everyone Needs to Know by Thomas Nagel
Cover of the book Fire in the City:Savonarola and the Struggle for the Soul of Renaissance Florence by Thomas Nagel
Cover of the book Oedipus the King by Thomas Nagel
Cover of the book A Brief History of the Philosophy of Time by Thomas Nagel
Cover of the book Max/MSP/Jitter for Music : A Practical Guide to Developing Interactive Music Systems for Education and More by Thomas Nagel
Cover of the book Out of the Mountains: The Coming Age of the Urban Guerrilla by Thomas Nagel
Cover of the book War Comes to Garmser: Thirty Years of Conflict on the Afghan Frontier by Thomas Nagel
Cover of the book Food Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know by Thomas Nagel
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy