Perhaps the belief in God is the belief that the universe is intelligible, but not to us. Thomas Nagel More Quotes by Thomas Nagel More Quotes From 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 point of view. Thomas Nagel subjectivityconsciousnessviews The universe has become not only conscious and aware of itself but capable in some respects of choosing its path into the future--though all three, the consciousness, the knowledge, and the choice, are dispersed over a vast crowd of beings, acting both individually and collectively. Thomas Nagel threeactingchoices There is a tendency to seek an objective account of everything before admitting its reality. Thomas Nagel admittingobjectivityreality Once we see an aspect of what we or someone else does as something that happens, we lose our grip on the idea that it has been done and that we can judge the doer and not just the happening. Thomas Nagel psychologyjudgingideas The problem is one of opposition between subjective and objective points of view. There is a tendency to seek an objective account of everything before admitting its reality. But often what appears to a more subjective point of view cannot be accounted for in this way. So either the objective conception of the world is incomplete, or the subjective involves illusions that should be rejected. Thomas Nagel admittingviewsreality What we take ourselves to be doing when we think about what is the case or how we should act is something that cannot be reconciled with a reductive naturalism, for reasons distinct from those that entail the irreducibility of consciousness. It is not merely the subjectivity of thought but its capacity to transcend subjectivity and to discover what is objectively the case that presents a problem....Thought and reasoning are correct or incorrect in virtue of something independent of the thinker's beliefs, and even independent of the community of thinkers to which he belongs. (p. 71) Thomas Nagel independentcommunitythinking I should not really object to dying were it not followed by death. Thomas Nagel objectsdyingshould Once we have taken the backward step to an abstract view of our whole system of beliefs, evidence, and justification, and seen that it works only, despite its pretensions, by taking the world largely for granted, we are not in a position to contrast all these appearances with an alternative reality. We cannot shed our ordinary responses, and if we could it would leave us with no means of conceiving a reality of any kind. Thomas Nagel takenmeanreality If I thought that everything I did was determined by my circumstancse and my psychological condition, I woudl feel trapped. Thomas Nagel determinedpsychologicalfeels The inclusion of consequences in the conception of what we have done is an acknowledgement that we are parts of the world, but the paradoxical character of moral luck which emerges from this acknowledgement shows that we are unable to operate with such a view, for it leaves us with no one to be. Thomas Nagel psychologyviewscharacter I'm not sure I understand how responsibility for our choices makes sense if they are not determined. Thomas Nagel determinedchoicesresponsibility If life is not real, life is not earnest, and the grave is its goal, perhaps it's ridiculous t otake ourselves so seriously. Thomas Nagel ridiculousrealgoal 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 presented as an argument is really a rationalization. This can undermine our confidence in the original method or practice only by giving us reasons to believe something else, so that finally we have to think about the arguments to make up our minds. Thomas Nagel philosophicalbelievethinking 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 first word: it should be examined before it is discarded. Thomas Nagel common-sensepsychologyordinary 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 as conscious beings will be recognized as a gigantic waste of time. Thomas Nagel mindmenbelieve Without consciousness the mind-body problem would be much less interesting. With consciousness it seems hopeless. Thomas Nagel mindscienceinteresting 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; I don't want the universe to be like that. Thomas Nagel there-is-no-godwantbelieve Any reductionist program has to be based on an analysis of what is to be reduced. If the analysis leaves something out, the problem will be falsely posed. Thomas Nagel analysisconsciousnessproblem equally real at all stages of his life; specifically, the fact that a particular stage is present cannot be regarded as conferring on it any special status. Thomas Nagel psychologyrealspecial To look for a single general theory of how to decide the right thing to do is like looking for a single theory of how to decide what to believe. Thomas Nagel psychologybelievelooks
