Title: Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False
Author: Thomas Nagel
First published January 1, 2012
144 pages, Hardcover
ISBN: 9780199919758 (ISBN10: 0199919755)
Rating: 3.59
Overview
In Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False, Thomas Nagel challenges the widely accepted view of materialist naturalism. He argues that this worldview cannot accommodate consciousness and other mind-related aspects of reality.
Nagel expands on the mind-body problem, exploring how it extends beyond just the relationship between animal minds and bodies, and how an adequate conception of nature must explain the appearance of conscious minds in the universe. With a focus on biology, evolutionary theory, and cosmology, Nagel explains how the standard materialist version of evolutionary biology is fundamentally incomplete.
He ultimately concludes that physics alone cannot be the theory of everything. This book is a thought-provoking exploration of the obstacles to reductionism and the limitations of purely materialist interpretations of nature.
About the Author
Thomas Nagel, a prominent American philosopher, has been teaching at New York University since 1980, where he currently holds the positions of University Professor and Professor of Philosophy and Law. His academic interests are focused on philosophy of mind, political philosophy, and ethics.
Nagel is widely known for his critical essay “What Is it Like to Be a Bat?” (1974), which challenges the reductionist approach to understanding the mind. He has also made significant contributions to deontological and liberal moral and political theory, particularly in his book The Possibility of Altruism (1970) and subsequent writings.
Nagel was born into a Jewish family in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia). He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University in 1958, his Bachelor of Philosophy from Oxford University in 1960, and his Doctor of Philosophy from Harvard University in 1963 under the guidance of John Rawls.
Prior to joining NYU, Nagel briefly taught at the University of California, Berkeley (from 1963 to 1966) and at Princeton University (from 1966 to 1980), where he trained many notable philosophers, including Susan Wolf, Shelly Kagan, and Samuel Scheffler, who is now his colleague at NYU. In recognition of his contributions to philosophy, Nagel was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2006.
Nagel is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy. He has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Science Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
In 2008, he was honored with the Rolf Schock Prize, the Balzan prize, and an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from Oxford University.
Editoral Review
Thomas Nagel’s Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False is a thought-provoking and challenging work of non-fiction that questions the accepted scientific view of reality. Nagel is a philosopher and professor at New York University who specializes in philosophy of mind, ethics, and political philosophy.
Mind and Cosmos was first published on January 1, 2012 and quickly became a controversial bestseller. At its core, Mind and Cosmos is an attack on the materialistic worldview that has dominated science and philosophy for the past few centuries.
Nagel argues that the materialist paradigm, which posits that everything in the universe can be reduced to physical matter and natural laws, cannot fully account for mental phenomena such as consciousness, cognition, and subjective experience. Furthermore, Nagel claims that the Darwinian theory of natural selection, which explains the diversity of life in terms of blind, purposeless processes, is unable to account for the complexity and diversity of life forms we observe.
Nagel’s critique is not based on religious or supernatural beliefs, but on a deep skepticism about reductionist and determinist assumptions. He acknowledges the achievements of science and the scientific method, but argues that they are limited in their scope and fail to address fundamental questions about meaning, value, and purpose.
Nagel proposes instead a non-reductive, teleological approach to life and the universe, in which consciousness plays a central role as a fundamental aspect of reality. One of the strengths of Mind and Cosmos is its clarity and accessibility, despite the complexity of the arguments and concepts involved.
Nagel writes in a clear and engaging style, using examples from science, philosophy, and everyday life to illustrate his points. He also acknowledges and responds to counterarguments and criticisms from other thinkers, making his own position quite nuanced and nuanced.
However, the book also has some limitations and weaknesses, which might frustrate some readers. For example, Nagel does not provide a clear alternative to the materialist paradigm he criticizes, leaving some readers wondering what his own position is.
Moreover, his arguments rely heavily on intuitions and thought experiments, which might not be convincing to readers who prefer empirical evidence and empirical facts. Lastly, some critics have accused Nagel of overstating his case and attacking straw men rather than engaging with the strongest versions of the materialist and Darwinian theories.
Overall, Mind and Cosmos is a challenging and stimulating book that invites readers to question their assumptions about reality and the limits of science. It is recommended for readers who are interested in philosophy, science, and the intersection between the two.
However, readers who are not familiar with the debates in these fields might find the book difficult to follow and may need some prior knowledge. Therefore, we would give this book a rating of 3.5 out of 5.
