Reviews
In Essays on Derek Parfit's On What Matters, seven leading moral philosophers offer critical evaluations of the central ideas presented in a. In On What Matters Derek Parfit argues that there are objective moral truths, and other normative truths about what we have reasons to believe, and to want, and to do. He further argues that if he is wrong, nihilism follows, and nothing matters. In Does Anything Really Matter? Leading philosophers present a fascinating set of responses to Parfit.
'At its best, Kant and Parfit allows readers to meticulously work through Parfit's arguments alongside Sarkar, benefiting from his knowledge of the text's intricacies, gaining insights through his careful exposition and critique, and, perhaps, seeing the genius of Parfit's work through Sarkar's eyes.' – Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
'Derek Parfit’s On What Matters is one of the most important works in moral philosophy to be published in years. A central part of that book is the contention that various normative ethical theories – namely Kantian deontology, rule consequentialism and Scanlonian contactualism – are far closer to each other than most philosophers suppose. In this book Husain Sarkar focuses on that central position and examines Parfit’s thought in relation to Kantian deontology, putting pressure on Parfit’s idea that one can derive consequentialist conclusions from deontological ideas. Sarkar’s book is an excellent, systematic and sustained meditation on Parfit’s thought; and from Sarkar’s own ideas one can learn a great deal about consequentialism and deontology generally. As such it will be required reading for students and scholars working on ethics and Parfit’s On What Matters.' – Simon Kirchin, University of Kent, UK
Subjects
In the first two volumes of On What Matters Derek Parfit argues that there are objective moral truths, and other normative truths about what we have reasons to believe, and to want, and to do. He thus challenges a view of the role of reason in action that can be traced back to David Hume, and is widely assumed to be correct, not only by philosophers but also by economists. In defending his view, Parfit argues that if there are no objective normative truths, nihilism follows, and nothing matters. He criticizes, often forcefully, many leading contemporary philosophers working on the nature of ethics, including Simon Blackburn, Stephen Darwall, Allen Gibbard, Frank Jackson, Peter Railton, Mark Schroeder, Michael Smith, and Sharon Street. Does Anything Really Matter? gives these philosophers an opportunity to respond to Parfit's criticisms, and includes essays on Parfit's views by Richard Chappell, Andrew Huddleston, Katarzyna de Lazari-Radek and Peter Singer, Bruce Russell, and Larry Temkin. A third volume of On What Matters, in which Parfit engages with his critics and breaks new ground in finding significant agreement between his own views and theirs, is appearing as a separate companion volume.
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