The universe has become not only conscious and aware of itself but capable in some respects of choosing its path into the future--though all three, the consciousness, the knowledge, and the choice, are dispersed over a vast crowd of beings, acting both individually and collectively.
Thomas Nagelequally real at all stages of his life; specifically, the fact that a particular stage is present cannot be regarded as conferring on it any special status.
Thomas NagelAbsurdity is one of the most human things about us: a manifestation of our most advanced and interesting characteristics.
Thomas NagelI'm not sure I understand how responsibility for our choices makes sense if they are not determined.
Thomas NagelIt is prima facie highly implausible that life as we know it is the result of a sequence of physical accidents together with the mechanism of natural selection. We are supposed to abandon this naïve response, not in favor of a fully worked out physical/chemical explanation but in favor of an alternative that is really a schema for explanation, supported by some examples. What is lacking, to my knowledge, is a credible argument that the story has a nonnegligible probability of being true.
Thomas Nagel