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

We found 12 Reddit comments about What Does It All Mean?: A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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12 Reddit comments about What Does It All Mean?: A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy:

u/drasil · 21 pointsr/askphilosophy

Nagel's book is what does it all mean? a very short introduction to philosophy.

he's not kidding, either--it's only 112 pages of extremely easy reading. I've used it in teaching secondary-level intro philosophy survey classes as the first text. it's incredibly useful for total novices and the high school crowd.

if you have no idea what epistemology even is, this an excellent place to start.

u/witty82 · 5 pointsr/philosophy

I would consider reading Thomas Nagel's book "What does it all mean" as it gives you a good idea of what contemporary academic philosophy is like.

u/WillieConway · 4 pointsr/askphilosophy

>I had a shower thought that eventually became an epiphany one day.

Explain this idea, specifically what you mean by "epiphany."

>We humans are little more than systems of inputs and outputs, like robots. Our emotions are chemicals and our thoughts are electrical impulses.

This is a contentious issue in philosophy--the idea that emotions and thoughts can be reduced to their material basis. You can read more here.


>We live (in a truly impartial universe) having made no real impact outside our speck of a planet, then cease to exist when we die.

What do you mean by "real impact"? And why reduce Earth to a "speck of a planet"? It seems like you've just decided that our actions are completely insignificant, which is a thesis you'll have to try defend if you want a serious discussion.

>When it comes to the big picture, we quite literally have no meaning whatsoever. The universe simply doesnt give a shit about us. When I accepted this, I wanted to break down and die, but strangely enough, it felt liberating and I don't know how to explain why.

I mean, that's basic atheism. There is a ton of reading out there on this idea.

I'm guessing you're new to philosophy, which is fine. In that case, you might want to look at an introductory book. Nagel's What Does It All Mean? might speak to your interests.

u/mattrock23 · 2 pointsr/philosophy

What Does It All Mean? by Thomas Nagel

Stay away from The Problems of Philosophy by Betrand Russell, people recommend it as an introductory survey sometimes, but it's deeply biased into his views. Nagel's book simply puts forward and explains the main questions without really trying to answer them.

u/1066443507 · 2 pointsr/askphilosophy

This is an excellent suggestion. If you want an easier read you might consider Nagel's What Does it All Mean? This book is excellent, very short, and very easy to get through. Probably the closest you can get to an absolute beginner's guide to philosophy.

u/CapBateman · 2 pointsr/askphilosophy

If you want a more general introduction into philosophy there's a Think: A Compelling Introduction to Philosophy by Simon Blackburn and the older What Does It All Mean?: A Very Short Introduction to Philosophy by Thomas Nagel. A more academic introduction (the last two books are more aimed at a general audience) is Fundamentals of Philosophy edited by John Shand. If you're willing to sit through it there also Russel's classic A History of Western Philosophy, which is a sort of introduction to philosophy through the history of the field (the audiobook is on youtube btw), and there also his Problems of Philosophy

I'm not that familiar with eastern philosophy, but a classic introduction to Existentialism is Walter Kaufmann's Existentialism from Dostoyevsky to Sartre and it should go nicely with Existentialism is a Humanism.

Hope this helps :)

u/C_M_Burns · 2 pointsr/philosophy

I know I'm tardy to the party, but I found that it's best to start with general surveys of philosophy, so you're exposed to a wide range of thought, then narrowing down your interests.

Personally, I found the following to be the most helpful:

From Socrates to Sartre: The Philosophic Quest

Think

What Does It All Mean?

The Problems of Philosophy

u/I_see_stupidpeople · 1 pointr/askphilosophy

I personally enjoyed David Edmond's "Would You Kill the Fat Man" and Thomas Nagel's "What does it All Mean" both provided a good foundation to tackle more challenging writings.

http://www.amazon.com/Would-You-Kill-Fat-Man/dp/0691154023

http://www.amazon.com/What-Does-All-Mean-Introduction/dp/0195052161

u/callouskitty · 1 pointr/ainbow

Those kinds of studies are really interesting. But I still think everyone should read this little book, particularly the part about chocolate.

Suppose, to paraphrase, that you were studying my experience of gender. If you could study and understand every neuron in my brain perfectly, that wouldn't tell you anything about my experience of gender, because my experiences are inside me and yours are inside you. Even if you opened up my skull and found that my brain tasted like sugar, spice and everything nice, it would just mean I have a delicious brain, not a female mind.