The Moral Theory of Self-Defeating

Who are you truly and what do you believe deeply?

'Reasons And Persons' by Derek Parfit is an examination into our beliefs of what we should do with our lives and our personal identity. Parfit appeals to rationality and argues why theories such as self-interest and consequentialism are self-defeating in their own terms. He does this through a series of hypothetical cases (both realistic and improbable) to demonstrate their paradoxes before providing what he believes is the truly logical way to think.

I summarised the book as follows. "This is probably a book for philosophers. I'd say you need to have a grasp on many fundamentals to fully understand the minutiae of Parfit's arguments. His general conclusions still seem quite vague and the use of so many hypotheticals & double/triple negatives became too much for me. Overall it wasn't worth reading as I couldn't take out any practical actions, but hey maybe that's just me." 

I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!

Timeline:
(0:00) - Intro
(0:34) - Synopsis
(4:04) - Reasons: What do we have the most reason to do?
(10:13) - Persons: Your beliefs about your identity over time are false!
(16:44) - Observations/Takeaways
(25:01) - Summary


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