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Rating: 
Summary: Brief philosophy at its very best.
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: a step in the right direction...
Review: I've fought for several years now against accepting the implications that this book brings to light. No one could tell me there wasn't more to life than the meager conclusion Thomas Nagel provides here. After a great deal of time & effort invested in proving Nagel wrong, I now admit he's correct. I have found, however, that taking up the philosophy of biology after carefully considering Nagel provides the necessary sustenance I sought. Especially recent work on reciprocal altruism and other forms of cooperative effort. Any good philosophy of biology will provide the necessary information. From the text and bibliography of the works by Sober, D. S. Wilson, Konner, Dawkins, Mitchell, Ruse and many others, the curious reader will find a wealth of reality-grounded consolation. This work by Nagel is no cause for despair... it is a very good starting point.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad; very introductory.
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent introduction to philosophy.
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent introduction to philosophy.
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect little intro
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: An informal introduction to philosophy (08/17/01)
Review: You would think an introduction to philosophy would mention the history, people, and methods of philosophy. Instead, Thomas Nagel takes a different approach, and introduces the reader to a few big questions that philosophers have tackled, without referring to philosophers of the past or present other than himself. He says at the beginning that his book is "for people who don't know the first thing about the subject" and "before learning a lot of philosophical theories it is better to get puzzled about the philosophical questions which those theories try to answer." The questions are ones that you have probably wondered about already, if only for a moment, and Nagel presents them and discusses each of them, adding more and more questions while leaving the reader to ponder them. It's a short read, but too short. Obviously, this was Nagel's intention. But though this book might be good for high school students, I was left feeling as if what I had read was more of an introduction to an introduction to philosophy.
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