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Work #563 · Mid

Reasons and Persons

Derek Parfit
1984 · English
Analytic ethics and metaphysics · British analytic philosophy

Parfit's 1984 foundational analytic ethics and personal identity — "we are not what we believe"

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute Reasons and Persons (Mid)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Plural
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Both
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency None
Observer · Moral Authority Reason
Observer · Theological Method —
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Continuous

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

⧖

Time

Reasons and Persons

The temporal life of persons and future generations.

✦

Space

Reasons and Persons

The ethical-personal space.

◉

Matter

Reasons and Persons

The embodied person (whose identity is not what matters).

◎

Observer

Reasons and Persons

The reductionist self.

⚡

Energy

Reasons and Persons

Energies of moral reasoning.

⧉

Information

Reasons and Persons

Foundational analytic-ethical framework.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

Reasons and Persons

Parfit's reductionist personal identity and population ethics remain centrally debated.