Mortal Questions (Canto) (Paperback)

~ Thomas Nagel (Author) "If death is the unequivocal and permanent end of our existence, the question arises whether it is a bad thing to die..." (more)
Key Phrases: impersonal concern, explanatory inference, antecedent circumstances, New York, Harvard University Press, Bernard Williams (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

'... a fine achievement. Few professional philosophers have written so rationally and agreeably on such a variety of difficult and serious problems.' P. F. Strawson, New York Review of Books

'These essays ... convey to an interested non-philosopher a real sense of the excitement and significance of philosophical enquiry.' R. A. Duff, The Literary Review

'Thomas Nagel writes with all the clarity and all the plainness of style that analytical philosophers have always admired ... if anyone can seize and keep the general reader's attention, it must be Thomas Nagel with this book.' New Statesman

Product Description

Thomas Nagel's Mortal Questions explores some fundamental issues concerning the meaning, nature and value of human life. Questions about our attitudes to death, sexual behaviour, social inequality, war and political power are shown to lead to more obviously philosophical problems about personal identity, consciousness, freedom, and value. This original and illuminating book aims at a form of understanding that is both theoretical and personal in its lively engagement with what are literally issues of life and death.

Product Details

• Paperback: 229 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (June 28, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521406765
• ISBN-13: 978-0521406765
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #72,444 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars New to Nagel? Read "The View From Nowhere" instead, June 25, 2000

By	"r-two" (Tulsa, Oklahoma United States) - See all my reviews

Although this book is very interesting and readable, it is ultimately a collection of largely unrelated essays by Nagel, most of which were written in the 1970's. For the Nagel enthusiast, it is a must. For the beginner, I would HIGHLY recomend Nagel's "The View From Nowhere". For one, "Nowhere" is shorter and therefore, I think, more accessable to the general reader. Like "Mortal Questions", it is also a collection of essays on various topics in philosophy, but with a much broader subject area. While Nagel's topics in "Mortal Questions" include war, disobediance, gender equality and the politics of preference (all matters of immanent concern in 1970's America), "Nowhere" tackles free will, personal identity and the pursuit of objectivity in a lucid and straightforward manner.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than sex, November 16, 1997

By A Customer

I read this book many years ago, and even now it sticks in my mind. This book covers a whole range of important issues in a way which is always accessible, yet surprising.

While many academic philosophers are lost in esoterica, Nagel brings a disciplined and creative mind to bear on "Mortal Questions." His thinking is sophisticated, but his writing style makes it seem easy. Among the topics he covers are the meaning of life and the nature of sex. He begins the latter essay with the intriguing opening "There is something to be learned about sex from the fact that we think it can be perverted."

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking, October 19, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Mortal Questions (Hardcover)

I highly recommend this work for philosophers and lay-people alike. This is an excellent collection of some of Nagel's thoughts on a wide range of thought-provoking topics. More than the appeal of the topics discussed, it is the clear, lucid, plain-language approach to philosophical analysis that sets this book apart. The ruminations on death and absurdity are among the highlights, along with the famous analysis of what it is like to be a bat.