Michael Nagel Questions

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In his book, Nagel helps present many fascinating and mind blowing philosophical concepts that help us question the most basic and fundamental notions of our very existence. In each chapter he tackles a separate and individual idea often times citing very well and sometimes unknown theories, arguing for or against such theories. In this paper we will analyze three separate questions that have been asked since mankind could formulate sounds into words and sentences. During the course of this paper, I will display my own personal opinions and perceptions of what I believe Nagel is trying to explain and either agree or disagree with his observations. I strongly believe that challenging the mainstream ideas that encompass our society is an important …show more content…
If we were to go to McDonald’s and choose a Big Mac, it’s because we were hungry, and out of the 12 menu items that’s the one item we were craving the most, so we paid and got our Big Mac, but there seems to be a problem. According to the idea of Determinism, our inner composition along with our social and learned behavior due to our surrounding environment and past experiences is what predetermines what we end up choosing. In other words, no matter how big or small our actions may appear, every single choice we have ever made or will make is already predetermined since birth. So it’s important to ask, does the concept of free will actually exist, or are our actions already laid out like blueprints to a …show more content…
If that were the case the lawyers who defend murderers and those who break the law would be able to guarantee their clients a successful defense in their favor, why? According to Determinism “the sum total of a person’s experiences, desires, knowledge, his hereditary constitution… all combine to make a particular action in the circumstances inevitable”(Nagel, Free Will 51) so you can’t really blame a person for killing or committing a crime, if it’s in their hereditary composition to do so. It’s true that science has proven that some serial killers have a different brain composition compared to other humans, but the law doesn’t adhere to these findings and the justice system clearly states that if a person is under no drug or alcohol influence and is of sound mind, a crime committed is a crime committed and should be persecuted to the fullest extent of the
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