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Thomas Nagel

Thomas Nagel Quotes

Philosopher

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Famous Thomas Nagel Quotes

“Once we have taken the backward step to an abstract view of our whole system of beliefs, evidence, and justification, and seen that it works only, despite its pretensions, by taking the world largely for granted, we are not in a position to contrast all these appearances with an alternative reality. We cannot shed our ordinary responses, and if we could it would leave us with no means of conceiving a reality of any kind.”

IfsWorldKindMeanWholeRealityBeliefViewsStepsTakenPositionOrdinaryEvidenceResponseAppearanceDespiteGrantedAlternativesAbstractContrastJustificationShedPretensionConceiving
Author:Thomas Nagel
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“The inclusion of consequences in the conception of what we have done is an acknowledgement that we are parts of the world, but the paradoxical character of moral luck which emerges from this acknowledgement shows that we are unable to operate with such a view, for it leaves us with no one to be.”

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Book:Mortal Questions
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“The problem is one of opposition between subjective and objective points of view. There is a tendency to seek an objective account of everything before admitting its reality. But often what appears to a more subjective point of view cannot be accounted for in this way. So either the objective conception of the world is incomplete, or the subjective involves illusions that should be rejected.”

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Book:Mortal Questions : Canto
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