Parfit's Ethics

by Richard Yetter Chappell

Derek Parfit (1942–2017) was one of the most important and influential moral philosophers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. This Element offers a critical introduction to his wide-ranging ethical thought, focusing especially on his two most significant works, Reasons and Persons (1984) and On What Matters (2011), and their contribution to the consequentialist moral tradition. Topics covered rationality and objectivity, distributive justice, self-defeating moral theories, Parfit's Triple Theory (according to which consequentialism, contractualism, and Kantian ethics ultimately converge), personal identity, and population ethics.

Genres: Philosophy

68 pages, Paperback

Published May 13, 2021

Reviews

[Cyril Hédoin]

Derek Parfit was one of the most important moral philosophers of the second half of the 20th century. His work, while widely discussed among the specialists, is also not well-known outside this small academic circles. Parfit's ideas have however never been as relevant as they are today. He has inspired new social movements like effective altruism and longtermism and has opened a whole new field of study (population ethics).

Parfit's writings are brilliant but not easily accessible. This book makes a really good job in summarizing Parfit's ethics in 50 pages, not a small achievement. Definitely recommend.

[Josh]

I've long heard that Parfit is extremely important, and also been put off reading Parfit because his books are long.

This was a concise introduction to the important ideas in Parfit's work. It shows why they're important, defends correct ideas against misguided critiques, and criticises misguided ideas in Parfit's work. Pretty perfect.

I would give 4 stars but with fewer reviews, I think the work deserves a bigger boost, and it's a great achievement.

[Daniel]

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