What Does It All Mean? : A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy (edition 1987)

An excellent little book introducing nine major philosophical questions, including the mind-body problem, free will and death. Nagel focuses on clarifying the questions, without muddying the discourse. Periodically he gives his own opinion to the question at hand, but not without urging the reader to come to their own conclusions. He doesn't waste any space bringing in historical references, or citing other philosophers. This book is all about bringing the questions themselves to light. I found the book to be clear and concise, and I'm sure I'll reread it soon, just to solidify the concepts within my own mind. "What Does It All Mean?" is my first exposure to Nagel, and I look forward to reading some of his more esoteric works. ( )

Straightforward philosophical review of several fundamental questions: How do we know anything, where does consciousness reside, what is the meaning of words, is there free will, what is right and wrong, is there justice, how should we think about death, and...what is the meaning of life (sigh...answer is NOT 42 - can you imagine that?) Love that it closes with a seeming injunction against taking ourselves too seriously, for then we tag life as both potentially meaningless AND absurd. Wish I'd had this prof at NYU! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Nagel ( )

Clear, concise introduction to philosophical issues without jargon. Not without it's biases though, since Nagel is a practicing philosopher with his own takes on different issues. Make sure you see where he goes from introduction of the issue to his own arguments, which are very good ones. ( )

A very good, easy-to-read, and short book. ( )

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