Philosophy Seminar: Roger Crisp (Oxford)
- Date: Thursday 4 October 2018, 15:00 – 17:00
- Location: Baines Wing
- Cost: Free
Philosophy Seminar: Roger Crisp (Oxford)
Parfit on Love and Partiality
It is generally held that in his 1984 book Reasons and Persons Derek Parfit was advocating greater impartiality in ethics. In his later work, On What Matters, he seems more inclined to accept that we have partial reasons, for example, to give priority to those we love. In this paper, I shall raise some problems for Parfit’s arguments for partiality, including an argument based on his reductionist conception of personal identity. No knowledge of Parfit’s work will be assumed.