Thomas Nagel

Thinking hardly
or hardly thinking?
Philosophy

Major trains of thought

* Logic
* Morality
* Reality

The good, the bad,
and the brain fart

* Ontological argument
* Apologetics
* Ethical altruism
* The Fine Art of Baloney Detection
* Futurism
* Modern art and architecture
* Is–ought problem
* Atheism

Come to think of it

* Religion
* Science
* Philosophy of science
* Ethics
* Psychology

v \- t \- e

Thomas Nagel (1937–) is an American philosopher.

## Contents

* 1 Overview
* 1.1 Philosophy of mind
* 1.2 Ethics and political philosophy
* 2 Intelligent design
* 3 External links
* 4 References

## Overview[edit]

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.

### Philosophy of mind[edit]

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]

### Ethics and political philosophy[edit]

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]

## Intelligent design[edit]

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.

## External links[edit]

* Nagel's faculty page
* Articles at The New York Review of Books

## References[edit]

1. ↑ Thomas Nagel. What is it like to be a bat? The Philosophical Review LXXXIII, 4 (October 1974): 435-50.
2. ↑ Nagel, Thomas (1979). Panpsychism. In Thomas Nagel (ed.), Mortal Questions. Cambridge University Press.
3. ↑ Thomas Nagel. (1979) Mortal Questions
4. ↑ Thomas Nagel. The Limits of Objectivity. The Tanner Lecture on Human Values, Brasenose College, Oxford University May 4, 11, and 18, 1979
5. ↑ The Case for Liberalism: An Exchange, Michael J. Sandel, New York Review of Books
6. ↑ Thomas Nagel and Stephen C. Meyer’s Signature in the Cell
7. ↑ Thomas Nagel Jumps the Shark, Leiter Reports
8. ↑ Mind and Cosmos by Thomas Nagel
9. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/books/thomas-nagel-is-praised-by-creationists.html