The last word

In The Last Word, Thomas Nagel presents a vigorous defense of the universality and objectivity of reason against contemporary forms of subjectivism and relativism in logic, language, science, and ethics.

Nagel argues that any criticism of reason is self-defeating because it must rely on principles that cannot be understood subjectively or relativistically.

The book explores how reason must have the 'last word' in debates about truth and justification, emphasizing that some principles of reasoning are universally valid and independent of individual or cultural perspectives.