Customer Reviews

What Does It All Mean?: A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy

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This is a very readable introduction to philosophy, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has done no previous reading in philosophy. It is a little short, but should serve to stimulate interest and provide a basis for further reading.
Topics covered are:
1. introduction
2. how do we know anything?
3. other minds
4. the mind-body problem
5. the meaning of words
6. free will
7. right and wrong
8. justice
9. death
10. the meaning of life
After reading this, you might wish to take a look at these books:
a. The Problem of the Soul (author: Flanagan)
b. The View from Nowhere (author: Nagel)
c. Language, Truth and Logic (author: Ayer)
d. Life and Death (author: Hackett)
e. The Meaning of Life (author: Klemke)
f. The Examined Life (author: Nozick)
g. The Symbolic Species (author: Deacon)
These books should serve to stimulate further interest in philosophy, and introduce you to some good writers. They are all written for the non-specialist, and are available as low-cost paperbacks.

I am a doctoral candidate in philosophy, and I still enjoyed reading this book. Never before have I seen such a brief, lucid introduction to some of the key problems of philosophy: Is there really an external world? Are there other minds? How does the mind relate to the brain? Is there such a thing as free will? What is the nature of morality and justice? How do words manage to refer to things? How should one feel about death? What is the meaning of life? Nagel offers short, engaging discussions of each.

One will not find in this book all of the major problems one is typically introduced to in a philosophy class - notably absent is the problem of induction and, except for a side note or two, the question of whether or not there is a god. However, one will find more than enough to stimulate much deep thought and many restless nights. Heartily recommended to all.

I think highly of Thomas Nagel as a serious philosopher. If you don't have a clue about philosophy, this is probably about as good an introduction as you can get. Nagel writes about philosophical problems that have haunted human minds throughout the ages. It is intentionally ahistorical for the good reasons that Nagel gives.

If you have had exposure to philosophy in, say, a college level course, this book will be much too simple for you. But if you want something to grease the neurons to start thinking in the abstract way that is philosophical in character, then this book is for you. It's probably a great text for kids in a high school course or adults who are just realizing the benefit of stepping back from life for a moment or two to reflect on what it all means.

Here is perhaps the best book to give to someone who asks "what is this philosophy stuff all about anyway?" In this short 100-page book the basic problems of philosophy receive coherent, meaningful, and very down to earth treatment. Nearly anyone can read this book. It includes no large imposing technical terms or obscure opaque theories. The language and subject matter of the book take aim at the true beginner and hit every time. Anyone with no background in philosophy, but with a curious streak for the subject, should read this book cover to cover.

Another interesting approach this book takes involves the complete absence of the names of eminent philosophers. Plato, Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, Descartes, Nietzsche, Russell, Quine; none of their names appear. This focuses the book on the nitty gritty subject matter, not the "big names" that pack most introductory philosophy texts. It also focuses readers on themselves. The questions asked and subjects covered can be directly related to the reader's own experience and life. One doesn't have to have read Descartes' "Meditations on The First Philosophy" to follow the first four chapters. They can be read and related to one's own experience, for some very basic questions get unearthed here: How do I know anything? How do I know that other people have minds? Am I a mind and a body or just a body? How do I figure out what words mean? And so on. This makes for a very welcoming introduction for newcomers. The book empowers those with little background rather than batting them down with "great names" or "great theories". Hopefully the text will whet the appetite for more (don't stop here by any means).

For those with a philosophy background (I have a B.A.) the book can still be refreshing in its simplicity. Reading it feels like going back to the basics or revisiting one's roots. Probably the best reason to read it is to gauge its effectiveness as an introductory text. Then of course recommend it to others.

Thomas Nagel (if you're involved in philosophy you've likely heard of him) also adds in some interesting passages. One of the best is: "Suppose a scientist were crazy enough to try to observe your experience of tasting chocolate by licking your brain while you ate a chocolate bar." Wow. There's an image and a concept you don't hear about every day.

Also, the book actually gives credence to the subjects of death and the meaning of life. Many people think philosophy is about the meaning of life (it is, but in the universities only on an extreme micro scale). Nagel writes eloquently and fairly about both. You may not accept his ideas about these subjects (depending on your background), but they provide fuel for thought and reflection. And one should heed Nagel's statement in the introduction that "...if I say what I think, you have no reason to believe it unless you find it convincing." Nagel's observation that we may in fact be in more trouble if there is an afterlife than if there isn't is particularly intriguing.

Nagel accomplished something great with this ultra-slim volume. He made some of the fundamental problems of philosophy accessible to almost anyone. That's no small achievement for a very small book.

This little book is perfect for its task: to introduce you to some of the main problems of philosophy, and get you thinking about them on your own, with no regard to the vast literature that has grinded over these problems in the last half dozen thousand years or so.

The title is appropriate, as you'll stare at it, depressed, when the book is over. The last mini chapter is called "The Meaning of Life" and Nagel points out that some of us take our lives too seriously, and get depressed with the thought that no, there really is no point to living after all.

The philosophical meat of the book weakens as you get to later chapters, perhaps because the problems become less focused. My favorite chapter was "Other Minds". You can't help but get this paranoid feeling that perhaps everyone you've ever interacted is has been... a figment of your imagination. Very Matrix-style.

During that first week of the first semester of the freshman year, before the social fraternities might have planned and executed their first parties, before the sports tryouts, play auditions, talent shows, and football games can begin in earnest, for those very few days, the meaning of college and a scholarly endeavor can still be shaped by a teacher. In those two or three class meetings, while others are still defining the field, deriving the Greek origin of the course title, explaining his/her own teaching approach, reading the syllabus, updating roll books, and breaking the ice, in those few days I try to capture students' attention. I will need it for the rest of the semester and I see it as an important part of my job to win it. But I have only a few days to hook them. Those who I can not ensnare are usually lost to the hard stuff, hookah, and hormones. So it's vital that I catch them, and fast. Luckily, I teach Philosophy and History.

Understanding this challenge, the first assignment should both engage and prepare the student for the next readings. Getting through the initial chapters should be an encouraging experience. If an advanced high school student could complete the readings for the second class meeting, spending about three hours to do so, and then successfully use the material in the next class discussion, then that reading is a perfect first selection.

And a broad description of philosophical thinking, in language that provides a freshman with better than even chances to succeed, can still be found in Thomas Nagel's _What Does It All Mean? A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy_. Nine chapters of about ten pages each make this readable little book ideal for the first week of an introductory course in Philosophy. Here, the ideas and major questions are presented in clear language, and in a rational, topical order. Supplemented by a week of rambunctious yet demanding classroom discussions, this small introduction will help open eyes and prepare your students for a more conventional reader, chronologically arranged by Philosopher. This next reader will be attacked, beginning in the second week, by students with some recent experience with the various topics, and in a mood to be critical. Handled correctly, the first week of Philosophy 100 will alert students that reading will count, that doing the reading before class will make you (the student) seem smarter to your classmates, that the text can be understood, and that the subject can be interesting, because it can be applied to life.

I can highly recommend Nagel's small book for that first week, while you still have their attention.

By introducing young minds to philosophy directly, without big talks about all those dead philosophers, Nagel makes it the best start in philosophy one can desire. I wish this was the first book I read on philosophy! --Desiderio Murcho

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? was forwarded to me by my daughter while she was attending college. She read it as part of her philosophy course syllabus. At first I thought it too slim of a volume to have substantial philosophical merit. How can the meaning of existence be even broached in one hundred pages? But Thomas Nagel has done just that. Be it read as introductory or review, one can satisfactorily cover the basics of philosophy in about an hour. That in itself is quite an accomplishment.

This book examines and acquaints the reader with the major questions of philosophy. As many other reviewers have pointed out, Nagel is remiss where it comes to giving answers, but I don't believe that was ever his intention with this short work. This is not a tract on "how to live," rather a primer for "what to think about?"

I had assumed that the title of this book, "What does it all mean?" was a question that the author intended to answer. Instead, it turned out to be something of a cry of desolation: "What does it all mean?" This characterises the book throughout -- and it is not a bad thing. It means that the author has sufficient subtlety and agility to arrive at irresolveable ends. Further, it means that he is willing to leave issues in the air, judging that there is no answer that he can see. This gives the book an unusual life and depth -- and suspense.

The subtitle is "A Very Short Introduction To Philosophy" (101 pages, to be precise). Its purpose is "to think about [philosophy's] questions directly", rather than a treatment of how the questions have been explored by great minds. In fact, not a single "great mind" is mentioned in the book -- unless e.g. Henry Ford and Meryl Streep should qualify. Nor is the book a representative survey of categories and themes. Rather, it tends to focus on epistemology and ethics.

This is a book that whets the appetite for philosophy. It is no "Teach Yourself" book -- yet it fulfils its promise as a book that "provokes readers to reflect on themselves and on the world around them". What does it all mean? "The trick is to keep your eyes on what's in front of you, and allow justifications to come to an end inside your life . . . Life may be not only meaningless but absurd."

This author seems to understand that less is often more. His chapters are to the point and interesting. I would almost advise some to try reading it in reverse order, that is, read the last chapter first and so on. They seem to be of interest in reverse order, or at least they did to me. But I think it is the best introduction to philosophy that I have seen, and one that would also be accessible to a bright early teen.