The Last Word

In The Last Word, leading philosopher Thomas Nagel presents a timely and vigorous defense of reason against the fashionable relativism that is all-too-pervasive in contemporary intellectual culture. His construction of a coherent framework beyond subjectivism is refreshing, erudite, and impressive, and should generate intense interest both within and without the philosophical community.

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In The Last Word, Thomas Nagel, a leading philosopher and Professor of Law, presents a sustained defense of reason against the attacks of subjectivism, delivering systematic rebuttals against its many relativistic claims in the fields of language, logic, ethics, and science. He proposes that reason reflects objective principles whose validity is independent of different points of view, and continues to argue that reason is universal because its only prerequisite is the ability to think systematically and with intelligence. Dismissing relativism as theoretical chic and inconsequential intellectual flourish, he predicts its ultimate stultifying effect on public discourse. The Last Word is a vigorous defense of reason and its universal narratives. Resisting what he describes as the eventual demise of intellectual discourse, Nagel's work sets a new standard in the debate: this book presents the clarity and simplicity of objective reason.

Nagel's construction of a coherent framework beyond subjectivism is refreshing, timely, and impressive, and should generate intense interest both within and outside the philosophical community.