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The View from Nowhere (Paperback)

by Thomas Nagel (Author) "The natural place to begin is with our own position in the world ..." (more)

3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Product details

Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: OUP USA; New edition edition (27 April 1989)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0195056442
ISBN-13: 978-0195056440
Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 13 x 1.5 cm

Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 184,633 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Much philosophical debate has attempted to reconcile the human capacity to view the world both objectively and subjectively. Thomas Nagel's ambitious and lively book tackles this fundamental issue, arguing that our divided nature is the root of a whole range of philosophical problems, touching, as it does, every aspect of human life. He deals with its manifestations in such fields of philosophy as the mind-body problem, personal identity, knowledge and scepticism, thought and reality, free will, and ethics. From reviews of the hardback: `Remarkable ... all of his discussions are clear and insightful, but some reach a level of originality and illumination that opens genuinely new avenues of philosophical thought ... a rare combination of profundity and clarity, along with simplicity of expression. It should be recommended to all those who are bored with or despair about philosophy.' Times Literary Supplement

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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars a perfectly defined problem with no perceivable solution, 30 Mar 2009

By	Oliver Wood (UK) - See all my reviews

The main thesis of this book is that objective/subjective perspectives create an unavoidable tension which affects virtually all aspects of philosophical enquiry. Where Nagel excells is in outlining the problems that such radically different perspectives can create; particularly within the fields of ethics and existentialism. Where he is considerably less affective (possibly to the point of being outright awful) is in providing a solution to these problems.
In almost every area of philosophy - metaphysicals, politics, ethics, Nagel again and again fails to resolve any of the tension between these radically opposed perspectives. What is perhaps more frustrating however, is the obfuscating waffle routinely emloyed to fill the gap between the definition of the problem, and the solution that never comes.

You only have to read Nagel's famous "what is it like to be a bat?" to see what a severe problem of Nagel's this has always from the very beginning of his career. The descriptions of consciousness in that essay are amongst the most lucid descriptions ever commited to print. His last ditch attempt to provide a normative argument however, reprensents the very worst in pseudo-intellectual waffle.
Sadly the exact same is true here - the descriptions of existential crisis and ethical dilemma are the best you are likely to encounter, but Nagel does not seem to have the intellectual capacity to provide a coherent precise solution to any of the problems he outlines. But since so much of the text is this book is cloaked in dense, impenetrable sophistry, many will probably come away thinking he's actually put some kind of argument forward. Look very closely though, and you'll see that the most he ever commits to is an anti-physicalist, anti-utitliarian stance. Beyond that, i believe its almost impossible to pin Nagel down on anything.

This is a great shame because the object/subjective dichotomy is the 'fly in the ointment' for just about any philosophical position going. Unlike Nagel however, most philosophers either do not seem to be aware of this problem, or do not want to accept that the problem exists in the first place due to the disastrous consequences it can have on a philosophical project once consciously acknowledged.

This is partly i think why the physicalist programme has proven so popular over the years. While we can never meaningfully define consciousness (the first person perspective) with third person tools, physicalists like Dennett at least provide a solution, the possiblity of philosophical and scientific progress.
While I believe Nagel's rather than Dennett's position has the weight of evidence and reason on its side, there is never any chance of such a position being popular when philosophers like Nagel throw their hands up in the air whenever pushed to provide an alternative method to the brute accumulation of 3rd person facts.

Until someone comes along and attempts to do this (and Nagel certainly isnt) we are stuck with the prevailing philosophical dogma: 'neural events are identical with mental states'. Which while empricially unverifable, at least offers some sort of beacon of hope for those who want to get to the bottom of consciousness.

While Nagel in this book has more than competently illustrated the inadaquacies of philosophical atomism, he has as yet i believe, managed to provide to a coherent alternative solution.

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7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An ambitous book that touches upon every aspect of humanlife, 14 Oct 2000

By A Customer

A clear and insightful book that attempts to tackle the human capacity to view the world both objectively and subjectively. One of the most engaging philosophy reads i am yet to encounter, which i would recommend to anyone suffering from the philosophical retoric of most other works.

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