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Thomas Nagel (1937–) is an American philosopher.
Nagel received a BA in philosophy from Cornell University in 1958, a BPhil from the University of Oxford in 1960, and a PhD from Harvard University in 1963.
Nagel is most well known for his interest and publications in philosophy of mind. He is a critic of reductionist accounts of the mind and he also opposes dualism and materialism. His best-known paper is "What is it Like to be a Bat?" which argues for an anti-reductionist theory of mind.[1] He is also known for reviving interest in panpsychism, although he never fully endorsed the position.[2]
Nagel has written on ethical issues concerning a wide variety of topics, including death, war, luck, and sex.[3] He associates subjectivity with deontological ethics and objectivity with consequentialism, asserting that neither is more fundamental than the other.[4] In political philosophy, he is known as a defender of John Rawls' theory of justice.[5]
In 2009, Thomas Nagel recommended Stephen Meyer's book Signature in the Cell as one of his "Best Books of the Year" in The Times Literary Supplement.[6][7] He is also the author of the book Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False which was released in September, 2012.[8] His creationist fanbase is large enough for the New York Times to note.[9] However, Thomas Nagel is an atheist himself and never explicitly supported creationism.
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