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What Does It All Mean

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Submitted By barryoffenburger
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Barry T. Offenburger

In Thomas Nagels book, “What Does It All Mean”, many questions are brought up that have troubled mankind probably since his existence or time of intellectual thought. Scientist are able to prove that humans have been here on earth between 6-7 billion years. With all these amazing discoveries man has been able to find, we are still unable to answer what seem to be some simple questions about ourselves. Do I really exist outside of my mind or is this all a dream? Do I really have will power or the freedom to choose? What is my meaning to life? These are all topics that depending on where you are from and how you were raised will all affect your theories and/or beliefs behind your answers. With an open mind; however, these questions can open a whole new world of possibilities and maybe what you have thought to be right your entire life, to be viewed as completely wrong.
How Deep Does the Rabbit Hole Go? I am sitting in a black desk chair typing this paper, feeling my fingers strike the keys. Looking at the screen but still completely aware of all my surroundings, hearing my neighbors annoying dogs bark as I type. I am feeling a little bothered. I know all of this because I am using my senses to let me know where I am and what I am doing. So the question now gets deeper…How do I know what a chair feels like, what a computer looks like, or even know what a dog is? Is there even a chair? Is all of this real? Or is this all in my mind? Nagel brings up some fascinating points in Chapter 2. How do we know anything? Everything in our lives up to this point is based on what you believe, whether it’s what a dog looks like, what a computer is…absolutely everything you know about anything has all been an experience you’ve had or something you’ve thought of. What if there was no world at all? What if all of this was in your head like some sort of

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