“The existence of consciousness is both one of the most familiar and one of the most astounding things about the world. No… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
“Are there any alternatives? Well, there is the hypothesis that this universe is not unique, but that all possible universes exist, and… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
If we tried to rely entirely on reason, and pressed it hard, our lives and beliefs would collapse - a form of… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
The more details we learn about the chemical basis of life and the intricacy of the genetic code, the more unbelievable the… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
“In either case, natural teleology would mean that the universe is rationally governed in more than one way—not only through the universal… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
Everything, living or not, is constituted from elements having a nature that is both physical and nonphysical--that is, capable of combining into… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
Each of our lives is a part of the lengthy process of the universe gradually waking up and becoming aware of itself. — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
“Even if life as a whole is meaningless, perhaps that's nothing to worry about. Perhaps we can recognise it and just go… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
It is prima facie highly implausible that life as we know it is the result of a sequence of physical accidents together… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
If sub specie aeternitatis [from eternity's point of view] there is no reason to believe that anything matters, then that does not… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
Leading a human life is a full-time occupation, to which everyone devotes decades of intense concern. — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
If life is not real, life is not earnest, and the grave is its goal, perhaps it's ridiculous t otake ourselves so… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
The point is... to live one's life in the full complexity of what one is, which is something much darker, more contradictory,… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
equally real at all stages of his life; specifically, the fact that a particular stage is present cannot be regarded as conferring… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
It is prima facie highly implausible that life as we know it is the result of a sequence of physical accidents together… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
“Some form of natural teleology, a type of explanation whose intelligibility I briefly defended in the last chapter, would be an alternative… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
Reason is universal because no attempted challenge to its results can avoid appealing to reason in the end-by claiming, for example, that what was… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
“A comprehensively reductive conception is favored by the belief that the propensity for the development of organisms with a subjective view must have been… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
A theory of motivation is defective if it renders intelligible behaviour which is not intelligible. — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
It isn't just that I don't believe in God, and naturally, hope there is no God. I don't want there to be a God;… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
To look for a single general theory of how to decide the right thing to do is like looking for a single theory of… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
“In speaking of the fear of religion, I don’t mean to refer to the entirely reasonable hostility toward certain established religions and religious institutions,… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
Philosophy is the childhood of the intellect, and a culture that tries to skip it will never grow up. — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
Common sense doesn't have the last word in ethics or anywhere else, but it has, as J. L. Austin said about ordinary language, the… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
“I am drawn to a fourth alternative, natural teleology, or teleological bias, as an account of the existence of the biological possibilities on which… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
“The existence of consciousness is both one of the most familiar and one of the most astounding things about the world. No conception of… — Thomas Nagel Copy Share Image
![“If sub specie aeternitatis [from eternity's point of view] there…” quote by Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c4f/thomas-nagel-9440_absurd_if-sub-specie-aeternitatis-from-eternity_2095998.jpg)
