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The Last Word
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
In The Last Word, Thomas Nagel argues against what he calls subjectivism, "a general tendency to reduce the objective pretensions of reason." On his enemies list are the architects of postmodernism, social scientists with delusions of grandeur, and philosophers ranging from Hume and Kant to W.V. Quine and Richard Rorty. Regarding reason as based on contingent features of our nurture, culture, or nature, such subjectivists contend that reason is not generally valid, but valid only from our point of view. Challenges to reason in general are bound not to convince: they subvert themselves if based on reason, but are not worth taking seriously otherwise. Challenges to reason in particular domains, such as logic or ethics, are expressed by "ritualistic metacomments declaring one's allegiance to subjectivism" about logic or ethics. But, Nagel argues, the subjectivist claims are unintelligible unless understood as claims of logic or ethics, and therefore can be adjudicated on logical or ethical grounds. The drastically schematic nature of Nagel's refutation of subjectivism is troublesome, inviting the question of whether anyone truly accepts the position that he attacks. It also inspires doubt that his refutation is developed enough to be, as advertised, the panacea for subjectivism. Nevertheless, The Last Word is highly recommended to philosophers and anyone else interested in thinking about reason. Elegantly written and incisively argued, it is sure to provoke discussion--and thus ensure that it will be anything but the last word. --Glenn Branch
Review
"Nagel's book is a ringing defense of the rationalist conception of reason and an uncompromising attack on the subjectivist conception.... Nagel applies his general anti-subjectivist argument in a number of areas, including language, logic, arithmetic and ethics....The case that Nagel presents in these chapters should disturb all those who have been lulled, or bludgeoned, into the flabby relativism that is so rampant in contemporary intellectual culture....Nagel's argument is not only correct, it is also urgent....The Last Word is a book that should be read and pondered in this golden age of subjectivism."--Colin McGinn, The New Republic
"Thomas Nagel stands out among today's best philosophers in retaining closer links with the big puzzles and mysteries that first attract most people to philosophy. He has a livelier sense of their depth and power than is conspicuous elsewhere in the academic study of philosophy, and admirably resists the widespread tendency to deny a thing's existence because it is difficult or perhaps impossible to understand."--The Times Literary Supplement
"...now comes Professor Nagel's fascinating, even brilliant, book..."--Commonweal
"Recommended."--The Key Reporter
"...[Nagel's] book, which is concise, spare, and well-argued, will prolong discussion by setting it on a new path....what he has to say is challenging, impressive, and thought-provoking."--International Philosophical Quarterly
See all Editorial Reviews
In The Last Word, Thomas Nagel argues against what he calls subjectivism, "a general tendency to reduce the objective pretensions of reason." On his enemies list are the architects of postmodernism, social scientists with delusions of grandeur, and philosophers ranging from Hume and Kant to W.V. Quine and Richard Rorty. Regarding reason as based on contingent features of our nurture, culture, or nature, such subjectivists contend that reason is not generally valid, but valid only from our point of view. Challenges to reason in general are bound not to convince: they subvert themselves if based on reason, but are not worth taking seriously otherwise. Challenges to reason in particular domains, such as logic or ethics, are expressed by "ritualistic metacomments declaring one's allegiance to subjectivism" about logic or ethics. But, Nagel argues, the subjectivist claims are unintelligible unless understood as claims of logic or ethics, and therefore can be adjudicated on logical or ethical grounds. The drastically schematic nature of Nagel's refutation of subjectivism is troublesome, inviting the question of whether anyone truly accepts the position that he attacks. It also inspires doubt that his refutation is developed enough to be, as advertised, the panacea for subjectivism. Nevertheless, The Last Word is highly recommended to philosophers and anyone else interested in thinking about reason. Elegantly written and incisively argued, it is sure to provoke discussion--and thus ensure that it will be anything but the last word. --Glenn Branch
Review
"Nagel's book is a ringing defense of the rationalist conception of reason and an uncompromising attack on the subjectivist conception.... Nagel applies his general anti-subjectivist argument in a number of areas, including language, logic, arithmetic and ethics....The case that Nagel presents in these chapters should disturb all those who have been lulled, or bludgeoned, into the flabby relativism that is so rampant in contemporary intellectual culture....Nagel's argument is not only correct, it is also urgent....The Last Word is a book that should be read and pondered in this golden age of subjectivism."--Colin McGinn, The New Republic
"Thomas Nagel stands out among today's best philosophers in retaining closer links with the big puzzles and mysteries that first attract most people to philosophy. He has a livelier sense of their depth and power than is conspicuous elsewhere in the academic study of philosophy, and admirably resists the widespread tendency to deny a thing's existence because it is difficult or perhaps impossible to understand."--The Times Literary Supplement
"...now comes Professor Nagel's fascinating, even brilliant, book..."--Commonweal
"Recommended."--The Key Reporter
"...[Nagel's] book, which is concise, spare, and well-argued, will prolong discussion by setting it on a new path....what he has to say is challenging, impressive, and thought-provoking."--International Philosophical Quarterly
See all Editorial Reviews
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