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What Does It All Mean?---_Such —Such is Nagel's title for his "very short introduction short introduction to philosophy." And how apt a title it is, even though he himself hardly himself hardly seems to be aware of this in his Introduction (pp. 3-7), and I may well be taking be taking it more in keeping with _my understanding of philosophy than his. 

According to this understanding, philosophy, although constituted by appropriate by appropriate forms of the theoretical questions about meaning and truth, is is oriented by the vital question properly distinguished as the existential question. But  But certainly not the least effective way of formulating the existential question is to is to ask, precisely, "What does it all mean?"--in —in the sense of what way of understanding of understanding myself and leading my life is appropriate to, or authorized by, the way the way things ultimately are? Thus, if one asks about "the center of philosophy," it doesnit doesn't lie, as Nagel is content to say, "in certain questions which the reflective human reflective human mind finds naturally puzzling" (p. 4)--although philosophy almost certainly —although philosophy almost certainly does involve asking and answering just such questions; it lies rather in asking in asking and answering this one question, which is the most vital of all our vital questionsvital questions. 

But, being in its own way a matter of critical reflection and proper theory, rather  rather than self-understanding and life-praxis, philosophy as such asks and answers and answers this vital question only indirectly, by directly asking and answering forms answering forms of the theoretical questions of meaning and truth appropriate to it as philosophyas philosophy. 

The connection between this line of reflection and my reflections elsewhere reflections elsewhere on Whitehead's understanding of philosophy's beginning and ending in ending in wonder seems dear clear enough. For what, ifnot if not precisely wonder, could give rise to rise to the orienting question of philosophy, "What does it all mean?" 

20 July 20012001