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<div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">1984 book by Derek Parfit</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 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.ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-More_citations_needed plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This article <b>needs additional citations for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Reasons_and_Persons" title="Special:EditPage/Reasons and Persons">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a>. 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font-style:italic; padding-bottom:0.2em;">Reasons and Persons <span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Reasons+and+Persons&rft.author=%5B%5BDerek+Parfit%5D%5D&rft.date=1984&rft.pub=%5B%5BOxford+University+Press%5D%5D&rft.place=United+Kingdom&rft.pages=560+%28%5B%5BHardcover%5D%5D+and+%5B%5BPaperback%5D%5D%29&rft_id=info:oclcnum/9827659"></span></caption><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="/wiki/File:Reasons_and_Persons.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b0/Reasons_and_Persons.jpg" decoding="async" width="142" height="215" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="142" data-file-height="215" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Author</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Derek_Parfit" title="Derek Parfit">Derek Parfit</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Language</th><td class="infobox-data">English</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Subjects</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Ethics" title="Ethics">Ethics</a>, <a href="/wiki/Rationality" title="Rationality">rationality</a>, <a href="/wiki/Personal_identity" title="Personal identity">personal identity</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Publisher</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Oxford_University_Press" title="Oxford University Press">Oxford University Press</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;">Publication date</div></th><td class="infobox-data">1984</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Publication place</th><td class="infobox-data">United Kingdom</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Media type</th><td class="infobox-data">Print</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Pages</th><td class="infobox-data">560 (<a href="/wiki/Hardcover" title="Hardcover">Hardcover</a> and <a href="/wiki/Paperback" title="Paperback">Paperback</a>)</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a></th><td class="infobox-data"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-19-824908-X" title="Special:BookSources/0-19-824908-X">0-19-824908-X</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)"><abbr title="Online Computer Library Center number">OCLC</abbr></a></th><td class="infobox-data"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/9827659">9827659</a></td></tr></tbody></table> <p><i><b>Reasons and Persons</b></i> is a 1984 book by the philosopher <a href="/wiki/Derek_Parfit" title="Derek Parfit">Derek Parfit</a>, in which the author discusses <a href="/wiki/Ethics" title="Ethics">ethics</a>, <a href="/wiki/Rationality" title="Rationality">rationality</a> and <a href="/wiki/Personal_identity" title="Personal identity">personal identity</a>. </p><p>It is divided into four parts, dedicated to self-defeating theories, rationality and time, personal identity and responsibility toward <a href="/wiki/Future_generations" title="Future generations">future generations</a>. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Summary">Summary</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reasons_and_Persons&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Summary"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Self-defeating_theories">Self-defeating theories</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reasons_and_Persons&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Self-defeating theories"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Part 1 argues that certain ethical theories are <i>self-defeating</i>. One such theory is <a href="/wiki/Ethical_egoism" title="Ethical egoism">ethical egoism</a>, which Parfit claims is 'collectively self-defeating' due to the <a href="/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma" title="Prisoner's dilemma">prisoner's dilemma</a>, though he does not believe this is sufficient grounds to reject the theory. Ultimately, Parfit does reject "common sense morality" on similar grounds. </p><p>In this section, Parfit does not explicitly endorse a particular view; rather, he shows what the problems of different theories are. His only positive endorsement is of "impersonal ethics" – impersonality being the common denominator of the different parts of the book. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Rationality_and_time">Rationality and time</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reasons_and_Persons&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Rationality and time"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Part 2 focuses on the relationship between <a href="/wiki/Rationality" title="Rationality">rationality</a> and <a href="/wiki/Time" title="Time">time</a>, dealing with questions such as: <i>should we take into account our past desires?</i>, <i>should I do something I will regret later, even if it seems a good idea now?</i>, and so on. </p><p>Parfit's main purpose in Part 2 is to make an argument against self-interest theory. Self-interest theorists consider the differences between different persons to be extremely important, but do not consider the differences between the same person at different times to be important at all. Parfit argues that this makes self-interest theory vulnerable to attack from two directions. It can be compared to morality on one side, and 'present-aim theory' on the other. Parfit argues that our present aims can sometimes conflict with our long term self-interest. Arguments that a self-interest theorist uses to explain why it is irrational to act on such aims, can be turned against the self-interest theorist, and used as arguments in favor of morality. Conversely, arguments that a self-interest theorist uses against morality could also be used as arguments in support of 'present-aim' theory. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Personal_identity">Personal identity</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reasons_and_Persons&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Personal identity"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Part 3 argues for a reductive account of <a href="/wiki/Personal_identity" title="Personal identity">personal identity</a>; rather than accepting the claim that our existence is a deep, significant fact about the world, Parfit's account of personal identity is like this: </p><p>At time 1, there is a person. At a later time 2, there is a person. These people seem to be the same person. Indeed, these people share memories and personality traits. But there are no <a href="/wiki/Further_facts" title="Further facts">further facts</a> in the world that make them the <i>same person</i>. </p><p><span class="anchor" id="teletransportation_problem"></span><span class="anchor" id="Star_Trek_problem"></span> Parfit's argument for this position relies on our intuitions regarding <a href="/wiki/Thought_experiment" title="Thought experiment">thought experiments</a> such as <a href="/wiki/Teleportation" title="Teleportation">teleportation</a>, the fission and fusion of persons, gradual replacement of the matter in one's brain, gradual alteration of one's psychology, and so on. For example, Parfit asks the reader to imagine entering a "teletransporter," a machine that puts you to sleep, then destroys you, breaking you down into atoms, copying the information and relaying it to Mars at the speed of light. On Mars, another machine re-creates you (from local stores of carbon, hydrogen, and so on), each atom in exactly the same relative position. Parfit poses the question of whether or not the teletransporter is a method of travel—is the person on Mars the <i>same person</i> as the person who entered the teletransporter on Earth? Certainly, when waking up on Mars, you would feel like being you, you would remember entering the teletransporter in order to travel to Mars, you would even feel the cut on your upper lip from shaving this morning. </p><p>Then the teleporter is upgraded. The teletransporter on Earth is modified to not destroy the person who enters it, but instead it can simply make infinite replicas, all of whom would claim to remember entering the teletransporter on Earth in the first place. </p><p>Using thought experiments such as these, Parfit argues that any criteria we attempt to use to determine sameness of person will be lacking, because there is no further fact. What matters, to Parfit, is simply "Relation R," psychological connectedness, including memory, personality, and so on. </p><p>Parfit continues this logic to establish a new context for morality and social control. He cites that it is morally wrong for one person to harm or interfere with another person and it is incumbent on society to protect individuals from such transgressions. That accepted, it is a short extrapolation to conclude that it is also incumbent on society to protect an individual's "Future Self" from such transgressions; tobacco use could be classified as an abuse of a Future Self's right to a healthy existence. Parfit resolves the logic to reach this conclusion, which appears to justify incursion into personal freedoms, but he does not explicitly endorse such invasive control. </p><p>Parfit's conclusion is similar to <a href="/wiki/David_Hume" title="David Hume">David Hume</a>'s <a href="/wiki/Bundle_theory" title="Bundle theory">bundle theory</a>, and also to the view of the self in <a href="/wiki/Buddhism" title="Buddhism">Buddhism</a>'s <a href="/wiki/Skandha" title="Skandha">Skandha</a>, though it does not restrict itself to a mere reformulation of them. For besides being <i>reductive</i>, Parfit's view is also <i>deflationary</i>: in the end, "what matters" is not personal identity, but rather mental continuity and connectedness. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Future_generations">Future generations</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reasons_and_Persons&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Future generations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Part 4 deals with questions of our responsibility towards future generations, also known as <a href="/wiki/Population_ethics" title="Population ethics">population ethics</a>. It raises questions about whether it can be wrong to create a life, whether environmental destruction violates the rights of future people, and so on. </p><p>One question Parfit raises is this: given that the course of history drastically affects what people are actually born (since it affects which potential parents actually meet and have children; and also, a difference in the time of conception will alter the genetic makeup of the child), do future persons have a right to complain about our actions, since they likely wouldn't exist if things had been different? This is called the <a href="/wiki/Non-identity_problem" class="mw-redirect" title="Non-identity problem">non-identity problem</a>. </p><p>Another problem Parfit looks at is the <i><a href="/wiki/Mere_addition_paradox" title="Mere addition paradox">mere addition paradox</a></i>, which supposedly shows that it is better to have a lot of people who are slightly happy, than a few people who are very happy. Parfit calls this view "repugnant", but says he has not yet found a solution. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Reception">Reception</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reasons_and_Persons&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Reception"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Bernard_Williams" title="Bernard Williams">Bernard Williams</a> described <i>Reasons and Persons</i> as "brilliantly clever and imaginative", and commended it as part of a wave of work in <a href="/wiki/Analytic_philosophy" title="Analytic philosophy">analytic philosophy</a> that deals with concrete moral problems rather than abstract meta-ethics.<sup id="cite_ref-Williams_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Williams-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><a href="/wiki/Philip_Kitcher" title="Philip Kitcher">Philip Kitcher</a> wrote in his review of Parfit's <i><a href="/wiki/On_What_Matters" title="On What Matters">On What Matters</a></i> that <i>Reasons and Persons</i> "was widely viewed as an outstanding contribution to a cluster of questions in metaphysics and ethics".<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><a href="/wiki/Peter_Singer" title="Peter Singer">Peter Singer</a> included <i>Reasons and Persons</i> on a top ten list of favourite books in <i>The Guardian</i>, stating that "Parfit's penetrating thought and spare prose make this one of the most exciting, if challenging, works by a contemporary philosopher".<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Writing for <i><a href="/wiki/The_New_York_Review_of_Books" title="The New York Review of Books">The New York Review of Books</a></i>, the philosopher <a href="/wiki/P.F._Strawson" class="mw-redirect" title="P.F. Strawson">P.F. Strawson</a> gave the book a positive review, stating "Very few works in the subject can compare with Parfit’s in scope, fertility, imaginative resource, and cogency of reasoning".<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In an interview, <a href="/wiki/David_Chalmers" title="David Chalmers">David Chalmers</a> said that he "loved" <i>Reasons and Persons</i>, saying that it gave him a "sense of how powerful analytic philosophy can be when done clearly and accessibly."<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reasons_and_Persons&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-Williams-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Williams_1-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWilliams1984" class="citation journal cs1">Williams, Bernard (7 June 1984). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.lrb.co.uk/v06/n10/bernard-williams/personal-identity">"Personal Identity"</a>. <i>London Review of Books</i>. <b>6</b> (10): <span class="nowrap">14–</span>15<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">6 April</span> 2012</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=London+Review+of+Books&rft.atitle=Personal+Identity&rft.volume=6&rft.issue=10&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E14-%3C%2Fspan%3E15&rft.date=1984-06-07&rft.aulast=Williams&rft.aufirst=Bernard&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lrb.co.uk%2Fv06%2Fn10%2Fbernard-williams%2Fpersonal-identity&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AReasons+and+Persons" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKitcher2012" class="citation magazine cs1">Kitcher, Philip (11 January 2012). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.tnr.com/article/books/magazine/99529/on-what-matters-derek-parfit">"The Lure of the Peak"</a>. <i>The New Republic</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">6 April</span> 2012</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+New+Republic&rft.atitle=The+Lure+of+the+Peak&rft.date=2012-01-11&rft.aulast=Kitcher&rft.aufirst=Philip&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tnr.com%2Farticle%2Fbooks%2Fmagazine%2F99529%2Fon-what-matters-derek-parfit&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AReasons+and+Persons" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSinger2001" class="citation news cs1">Singer, Peter (6 April 2001). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/apr/06/bestbooks.philosophy">"Peter Singer's top 10 books"</a>. <i>The Guardian</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">6 April</span> 2012</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Guardian&rft.atitle=Peter+Singer%27s+top+10+books&rft.date=2001-04-06&rft.aulast=Singer&rft.aufirst=Peter&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbooks%2F2001%2Fapr%2F06%2Fbestbooks.philosophy&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AReasons+and+Persons" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFStrawson1984" class="citation magazine cs1">Strawson, P. F. (June 14, 1984). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1984/06/14/the-parfit-connection/">"The Parfit Connection"</a>. <i>The New York Review</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">24 March</span> 2022</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+New+York+Review&rft.atitle=The+Parfit+Connection&rft.date=1984-06-14&rft.aulast=Strawson&rft.aufirst=P.+F.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nybooks.com%2Farticles%2F1984%2F06%2F14%2Fthe-parfit-connection%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AReasons+and+Persons" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFChalmers2016" class="citation web cs1">Chalmers, David (September 28, 2016). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.whatisitliketobeaphilosopher.com/david-chalmers">"What is it like to be a philosopher?"</a>. <i>whatisitliketobeaphilosopher.com</i>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20161001071513/https://www.whatisitliketobeaphilosopher.com/david-chalmers">Archived</a> from the original on October 1, 2016.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=whatisitliketobeaphilosopher.com&rft.atitle=What+is+it+like+to+be+a+philosopher%3F&rft.date=2016-09-28&rft.aulast=Chalmers&rft.aufirst=David&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whatisitliketobeaphilosopher.com%2Fdavid-chalmers&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AReasons+and+Persons" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFSauchelli2020" class="citation book cs1">Sauchelli, Andrea, ed. (2020). <i>Derek Parfit's Reasons and Persons</i>. <a href="/wiki/Routledge" title="Routledge">Routledge</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1138595132" title="Special:BookSources/978-1138595132"><bdi>978-1138595132</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Derek+Parfit%27s+Reasons+and+Persons&rft.pub=Routledge&rft.date=2020&rft.isbn=978-1138595132&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AReasons+and+Persons" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Reasons_and_Persons&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" 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title="Evil">Evil</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Problem_of_evil" title="Problem of evil">Problem of evil</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Greed" title="Greed">Greed</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Happiness" title="Happiness">Happiness</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Honour" title="Honour">Honour</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ideal_(ethics)" title="Ideal (ethics)">Ideal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Immorality" title="Immorality">Immorality</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Justice" title="Justice">Justice</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Liberty" title="Liberty">Liberty</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Loyalty" title="Loyalty">Loyalty</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Moral_agency" title="Moral agency">Moral agency</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Moral_courage" title="Moral courage">Moral courage</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Moral_hierarchy" title="Moral hierarchy">Moral hierarchy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Moral_imperative" title="Moral imperative">Moral imperative</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Morality" title="Morality">Morality</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Norm_(philosophy)" title="Norm (philosophy)">Norm</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pacifism" title="Pacifism">Pacifism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Political_freedom" title="Political freedom">Political freedom</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Precept" title="Precept">Precept</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rights" title="Rights">Rights</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Self-discipline" class="mw-redirect" title="Self-discipline">Self-discipline</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Suffering" title="Suffering">Suffering</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Stewardship" title="Stewardship">Stewardship</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sympathy" title="Sympathy">Sympathy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Theodicy" title="Theodicy">Theodicy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Torture" title="Torture">Torture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trust_(social_science)" title="Trust (social science)">Trust</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Value_(ethics)" title="Value (ethics)">Value</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Intrinsic_value_(ethics)" title="Intrinsic value (ethics)">Intrinsic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Japanese_values" title="Japanese values">Japan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Values_(Western_philosophy)" class="mw-redirect" title="Values (Western philosophy)">Western</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vice" title="Vice">Vice</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Virtue" title="Virtue">Virtue</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vow" title="Vow">Vow</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wrongdoing" title="Wrongdoing">Wrong</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_ethicists" title="List of ethicists">Ethicists<br /></a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Laozi" title="Laozi">Laozi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Socrates" title="Socrates">Socrates</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plato" title="Plato">Plato</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Aristotle" title="Aristotle">Aristotle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Diogenes" title="Diogenes">Diogenes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thiruvalluvar" title="Thiruvalluvar">Valluvar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cicero" title="Cicero">Cicero</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Confucius" title="Confucius">Confucius</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Augustine_of_Hippo" title="Augustine of Hippo">Augustine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mencius" title="Mencius">Mencius</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mozi" title="Mozi">Mozi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Xunzi_(philosopher)" title="Xunzi (philosopher)">Xunzi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thomas_Aquinas" title="Thomas Aquinas">Aquinas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Baruch_Spinoza" title="Baruch Spinoza">Spinoza</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Joseph_Butler" title="Joseph Butler">Butler</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/David_Hume" title="David Hume">Hume</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Adam_Smith" title="Adam Smith">Smith</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Immanuel_Kant" title="Immanuel Kant">Kant</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Georg_Wilhelm_Friedrich_Hegel" title="Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel">Hegel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Arthur_Schopenhauer" title="Arthur Schopenhauer">Schopenhauer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jeremy_Bentham" title="Jeremy Bentham">Bentham</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill" title="John Stuart Mill">Mill</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/S%C3%B8ren_Kierkegaard" title="Søren Kierkegaard">Kierkegaard</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Henry_Sidgwick" title="Henry Sidgwick">Sidgwick</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzsche" title="Friedrich Nietzsche">Nietzsche</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/G._E._Moore" title="G. E. Moore">Moore</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Karl_Barth" title="Karl Barth">Barth</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Paul_Tillich" title="Paul Tillich">Tillich</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dietrich_Bonhoeffer" title="Dietrich Bonhoeffer">Bonhoeffer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Philippa_Foot" title="Philippa Foot">Foot</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/John_Rawls" title="John Rawls">Rawls</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/John_Dewey" title="John Dewey">Dewey</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bernard_Williams" title="Bernard Williams">Williams</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/J._L._Mackie" title="J. L. Mackie">Mackie</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/G._E._M._Anscombe" title="G. E. M. Anscombe">Anscombe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/William_Frankena" title="William Frankena">Frankena</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alasdair_MacIntyre" title="Alasdair MacIntyre">MacIntyre</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/R._M._Hare" title="R. M. Hare">Hare</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Peter_Singer" title="Peter Singer">Singer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Derek_Parfit" title="Derek Parfit">Parfit</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thomas_Nagel" title="Thomas Nagel">Nagel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Robert_Merrihew_Adams" title="Robert Merrihew Adams">Adams</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Charles_Taylor_(philosopher)" title="Charles Taylor (philosopher)">Taylor</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Joxe_Azurmendi" title="Joxe Azurmendi">Azurmendi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Christine_Korsgaard" title="Christine Korsgaard">Korsgaard</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Martha_Nussbaum" title="Martha Nussbaum">Nussbaum</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Works</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0;font-style:italic;"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Nicomachean_Ethics" title="Nicomachean Ethics">Nicomachean Ethics</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(c. 322 BC)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ethics_(Spinoza_book)" class="mw-redirect" title="Ethics (Spinoza book)">Ethics (Spinoza)</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1677)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fifteen_Sermons_Preached_at_the_Rolls_Chapel" title="Fifteen Sermons Preached at the Rolls Chapel">Fifteen Sermons Preached at the Rolls Chapel</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1726)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/A_Treatise_of_Human_Nature" title="A Treatise of Human Nature">A Treatise of Human Nature</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1740)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Theory_of_Moral_Sentiments" title="The Theory of Moral Sentiments">The Theory of Moral Sentiments</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1759)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/An_Introduction_to_the_Principles_of_Morals_and_Legislation" title="An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation">An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1780)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Groundwork_of_the_Metaphysics_of_Morals" title="Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals">Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1785)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Critique_of_Practical_Reason" title="Critique of Practical Reason">Critique of Practical Reason</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1788)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Elements_of_the_Philosophy_of_Right" title="Elements of the Philosophy of Right">Elements of the Philosophy of Right</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1820)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Either/Or_(Kierkegaard_book)" title="Either/Or (Kierkegaard book)">Either/Or</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1843)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Utilitarianism_(book)" title="Utilitarianism (book)">Utilitarianism</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1861)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Methods_of_Ethics" title="The Methods of Ethics">The Methods of Ethics</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1874)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/On_the_Genealogy_of_Morality" title="On the Genealogy of Morality">On the Genealogy of Morality</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1887)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Principia_Ethica" title="Principia Ethica">Principia Ethica</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1903)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/A_Theory_of_Justice" title="A Theory of Justice">A Theory of Justice</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1971)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Practical_Ethics" title="Practical Ethics">Practical Ethics</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1979)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/After_Virtue" title="After Virtue">After Virtue</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1981)</span></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Reasons and Persons</a> <span style="font-size:85%;">(1984)</span></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Related</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Axiology" class="mw-redirect" title="Axiology">Axiology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Casuistry" title="Casuistry">Casuistry</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Descriptive_ethics" title="Descriptive ethics">Descriptive ethics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ethics_in_religion" title="Ethics in religion">Ethics in religion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Evolutionary_ethics" title="Evolutionary ethics">Evolutionary ethics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_ethics" title="History of ethics">History of ethics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Human_rights" title="Human rights">Human rights</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ideology" title="Ideology">Ideology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Moral_psychology" title="Moral psychology">Moral psychology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Philosophy_of_law" class="mw-redirect" title="Philosophy of law">Philosophy of law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Political_philosophy" title="Political philosophy">Political philosophy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Population_ethics" title="Population ethics">Population ethics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rehabilitation_(penology)" title="Rehabilitation (penology)">Rehabilitation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Secular_ethics" title="Secular ethics">Secular ethics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Social_philosophy" title="Social philosophy">Social philosophy</a></li> <li><b><a href="/wiki/Index_of_ethics_articles" title="Index of ethics articles">Index</a></b></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div> <ul><li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span title="Category"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/16px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/96/Symbol_category_class.svg/23px-Symbol_category_class.svg.png 1.5x, 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