If we are going to consider Thomas Nagel's way of thinking and incorporate it into our definition of philosophy, we should consider his statement that was published in the New York Review of Books. He says, "Philosophy, unlike most other subjects, does not try to extend our knowledge by discovering new information about the world. It tries to deepen our understanding by reflection on what is already closest to us". By this he means that most other things broaden our knowledge; however, philosophy makes us look deeper into something .a form or idea. There are things around us and in us that are...

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• Grade Level: High School

... alone are responsible for detaching philosophy from the real world. A case in point is the prevalent acceptance of Plato's dichotomy between mind/soul and body. This distinction has been presented in many forms : real vs ideal; spirit vs flesh; earthly vs ethereal; temporal vs eternal; imperfect vs perfect. If the layman were looking for support that philosophy has nothing to do with life in the real ... world, he could find no finer advocate than Plato, who in the Phaedo speaks through Socrates and suggests that to do philosophy ... be able to philosophise. The reason why I am so cond...

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• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School