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Review
"Very few works in the subject can compare with Parfit's in scope, fertility, imaginative resource, and cogency of reasoning."--P.F. Strawson, The New York Review of Books
"Complex, brilliant, and entertaining....This book is chock-full of impressive arguments, many of which seem destined to become part of the standard analytic repertory....It is an understatement to say that it is well worth reading."--International Studies in Philosophy
"Extraordinary...Brilliant...Astonishingly rich in ideas...A major contribution to philosophy: it will be read, honoured, and argued about for many years to come."--Samuel Scheffler, Times Literary Supplement
"A brilliantly clever and imaginative book...Strange and excitingly intense."--Alan Ryan, Sunday Times (London)
"Not many books reset the philosophical agenda in the way that this one does....Western philosophy, especially systematic ethics, will not be the same again."--Philosophical Books
Product Description
This book challenges, with several powerful arguments, some of our deepest beliefs about rationality, morality, and personal identity. The author claims that we have a false view of our own nature; that it is often rational to act against our own best interests; that most of us have moral views that are directly self-defeating; and that, when we consider future generations the conclusions will often be disturbing. He concludes that non-religious moral philosophy is a young subject, with a promising but unpredictable future.
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First Sentence
WHAT do we have most reason to do? Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
WHAT do we have most reason to do? Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
... I concentrated mainly on the 'persons' side of the book.
I first read it in 1992, while studying philosophy at university and finding the entire subject frustrating. So much philosophy in the anglo-german tradition is a game of semantics. Reasons and Persons is different - it is a well reasoned argument that can have life-changing consequences.
His discussion of personal identity - what makes a person the same person across a spatio-termporal path - was revelatory. By explaining that, frankly, we do not have a consistent identity over time the implications for ethics become explosive.
I don't want to make it sound like some drippy self-help book, it certainly isn't, but it had a profound and life-changing effect on me and my notions of justice, punishment and my own identity.
I first read it in 1992, while studying philosophy at university and finding the entire subject frustrating. So much philosophy in the anglo-german tradition is a game of semantics. Reasons and Persons is different - it is a well reasoned argument that can have life-changing consequences.
His discussion of personal identity - what makes a person the same person across a spatio-termporal path - was revelatory. By explaining that, frankly, we do not have a consistent identity over time the implications for ethics become explosive.
I don't want to make it sound like some drippy self-help book, it certainly isn't, but it had a profound and life-changing effect on me and my notions of justice, punishment and my own identity.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a brilliant seminal work of 20th century ethics. Parfit argues in a very clear style, attempting to decide between attitudes to decision-making, mainly consequentialism, 'common-sense morality', and self-interest theory (rational egoism). He is also concerned with questions of personal identity, i.e. what (if anything) makes a person the same person over time? This in turn feeds into questions of morality and rationality, developing an intriguing and provocative position. Parfit also reflects on the question of what we owe to future generations. This is an extremly important issue and Parfit handles it well, though it is perhaps not that closely related to questions from the earlier parts. But any complaints we might have can only be mere quibbles; it is impossible to deny that Parfit discusses issues of earth-shattering importance in a tremendously insightful and stimulating way. Parfit admits that there are many questions left open at the end, but this is unsurprising: it would be too much of a miracle to expect all the problems of ethics to be solved in one go, even by an intellectual giant of Parfit's calibre. However, it does leave open the issues for all those inspired by the book (and who wouldn't be?) to put forward their own theories.
In short, if you are interested in the question of how to make decisions and what morality says you should do - which is a pretty universal issue - this book is essential reading.
In short, if you are interested in the question of how to make decisions and what morality says you should do - which is a pretty universal issue - this book is essential reading.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Quite simply an awesome book, rigorous and detailed on every point, and beautiful because of it. A definite challenge that any ethical theorist must defeat.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
don't waste your money
I freely admit to neither owning this book, nor even reading past page seven (the whole first chapter is available online elsewhere). Read more
Published on 7 Jan 2009 by Peter Mcfarlane
A crucial work in contemporary ethics
It surprises me that no-one has yet reviewed this. Reasons and Persons is not only tremendously influential in contemporary moral philosophy, it also deserves to be. Read more
Published on 27 Oct 2000
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