Thomas Nagel

High school (ages 12+)
Philosophy & Big Questions

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/thomas-nagel

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Thomas Nagel born?July 4, 1937
2. What is the career?University Professor of Philosophy and Law Emeritus at New York University (1980-2016)
3. Who is Thomas Nagel?Thomas Nagel is an American philosopher born in 1937 who studies the mind, ethics, and politics.
4. Why is he famous for the essay about bats?He wrote "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?" to show that animals have special experiences that science alone can’t fully explain.

Material Reductionism: The philosophical view that all phenomena can be explained by physical matter and its interactions.
Subjective Experience: The personal, first-person perspective and qualitative feel of an experience.
Philosophy of Mind: The branch of philosophy that investigates the nature of the mind, mental events, mental functions, mental properties, consciousness, and their relationship to the physical body.
Ethics: The branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles and values.