Most people think about philosophical problems without realizing it: What really exists? Can we know anything? Is anything really right or wrong? Does life have any meaning? Is death the end of everything? These problems have been written about for thousands of years, but the philosophical raw material comes directly from the world and our relation to it.

In this remarkable book distinguished philosopher Thomas Nagel leads the reader into the heart of nine of these central problems of philosophy. In vivid, accessible prose, he brings the issues to life, demonstrating why they have continued to baffle and fascinate countless thinkers across the centuries. What Does It All Mean? challenges us to think hard and think clearly; to ask questions, to argue, to try out ideas and raise possible objections to them - in a word, to become philosophers ourselves.