--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The widespread willingness to rely on…" description: "\"“The widespread willingness to rely on thermonuclear bombs as the ultimate weapon displays a cavalier attitude toward death that has always puzzled me...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e84/thomas-nagel-9440_death_the-widespread-willingness-to-rely-on-th_1746168.jpg" --- # The widespread willingness to rely on thermonuclear bombs… ![“The widespread willingness to rely on thermonuclear bombs as the ultimate weapon displays a cavalier attitude toward death that has always puzzled me. My impression is that...most of the defenders of these weapons are not suitably horrified at the possibility of a war in which hundreds of millions…” quote by Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e84/thomas-nagel-9440_death_the-widespread-willingness-to-rely-on-th_1746168.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e84/thomas-nagel-9440_death_the-widespread-willingness-to-rely-on-th_1746168.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e84/thomas-nagel-9440_death_the-widespread-willingness-to-rely-on-th_1746168.jpg) > ““The widespread willingness to rely on thermonuclear bombs as the ultimate weapon displays a cavalier attitude toward death that has always puzzled me. My impression is that...most of the defenders of these weapons are not suitably horrified at the possibility of a war in which hundreds of millions of people would be killed...I suspect that an important factor may be belief in an afterlife, and that the proporttion of those who think that death is not the end is much higher among the partisans of the bomb than among its opponents.”” [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People who support nuclear weapons often hold beliefs that lessen fear of massive death, such as belief in an afterlife. **In simple terms:** Belief in afterlife reduces fear of nuclear war. Key Takeaway Recognize how personal beliefs shape policy views. Themes ethics war belief Mood critical thought‑provoking Type analysis philosophical When to use this quote - policy debates - public speeches - academic seminars Key Concepts philosophy political psychology Questions to Reflect On - What personal beliefs influence your stance on weapons? - Can policy be shaped without invoking metaphysics? A Different Perspective Not all supporters share afterlife beliefs; other factors matter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief Afterlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief-afterlife-1005069/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Horrified Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horrified-possibility-1563536/) [Philosophy of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-life/) [Rely Thermonuclear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rely-thermonuclear-1563537/) [Thermonuclear Bombs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thermonuclear-bombs-1563535/) [Think Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-death/) ## Related quotes > [“things went quickly awry. Thermonuclear bombs were still not well understood and the weapon, code-named CASTLE BRAVO, turned out to be three times more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-m-graff/things-went-quickly-awry-thermonuclear-bombs-were-still-not-well/) [Garrett M. Graff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-m-graff/) > [“The universality of belief in an afterlife is astonishing, because life after death is not one of those empirically obvious beliefs that one would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-universality-of-belief-in-an-afterlife-is-astonishing-because/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I remember watching Mel Gibson on some show once, and he was being asked about his belief in the afterlife. 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I don't know? you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/nothing-seems-to-matter-quite-as-much-i-no-longer-think-about-death/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I think death is part of all of our lives and everything needs to evolve into something else. Anyway, that's my fatalistic attitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/i-think-death-is-part-of-all-of-our-lives-and-everything-needs-to/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) > [I don't want to die. I think death is a greatly overrated experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/i-don-t-want-to-die-i-think-death-is-a-greatly-overrated-experience/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [I think about death all the time. 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Nobody wants to tick that box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/you-would-think-death-was-an-optional-extra-nowadays-nobody-wants-to/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [When I think of death, I only regret that I will not be able to see this beautiful country anymore unless the Indians are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/when-i-think-of-death-i-only-regret-that-i-will-not-be-able-to-see/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) ## More by Thomas Nagel > [every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/every-subjective-phenomenon-is-essentially-connected-with-a-single/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/reason-is-universal-because-no-attempted-challenge-to-its-results-can/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [“A comprehensively reductive conception is favored by the belief that the propensity for the development of organisms with a subjective view must have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/a-comprehensively-reductive-conception-is-favored-by-the-belief-that/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [A theory of motivation is defective if it renders intelligible behaviour which is not intelligible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/a-theory-of-motivation-is-defective-if-it-renders-intelligible/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [It isn't just that I don't believe in God, and naturally, hope there is no God. 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What is it like for a bat to be a bat?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/what-is-it-like-to-be-a-bat-what-is-it-like-for-a-bat-to-be-a-bat/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [To look for a single general theory of how to decide the right thing to do is like looking for a single theory of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/to-look-for-a-single-general-theory-of-how-to-decide-the-right-thing/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [“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,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/in-speaking-of-the-fear-of-religion-i-don-t-mean-to-refer-to-the/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Philosophy is the childhood of the intellect, and a culture that tries to skip it will never grow up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/philosophy-is-the-childhood-of-the-intellect-and-a-culture-that-tries/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/common-sense-doesn-t-have-the-last-word-in-ethics-or-anywhere-else/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [“I am drawn to a fourth alternative, natural teleology, or teleological bias, as an account of the existence of the biological possibilities on which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/i-am-drawn-to-a-fourth-alternative-natural-teleology-or-teleological/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [“The existence of consciousness is both one of the most familiar and one of the most astounding things about the world. No conception of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/the-existence-of-consciousness-is-both-one-of-the-most-familiar-and/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [“Are there any alternatives? Well, there is the hypothesis that this universe is not unique, but that all possible universes exist, and we find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/are-there-any-alternatives-well-there-is-the-hypothesis-that-this/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [If we tried to rely entirely on reason, and pressed it hard, our lives and beliefs would collapse - a form of madness that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/if-we-tried-to-rely-entirely-on-reason-and-pressed-it-hard-our-lives/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Eventually, I believe, current attempts to understand the mind by analogy with man-made computers that can perform superbly some of the same external tasks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/eventually-i-believe-current-attempts-to-understand-the-mind-by/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) [Explore all 72 Thomas Nagel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. 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He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) [J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) [Alan W. 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