Thomas Nagel’s worthwhile book Mind and Cosmos addresses the problems with mind and reason as products of evolution. I found his writing refreshing – the rare atheist who takes the ideas of others seriously, and is willing to consider the possibility he might be wrong. His conclusion indicates his answer to the question posed in the title.
I would be willing to bet that the present right-thinking consensus will come to seem laughable in a generation or two— though of course it may be replaced by a new consensus that is just as invalid. The human will to believe is inexhaustible. (p128)
Indeed.
