Episode
Derick Parfit, Reasons And Persons - Lowering Quality Of Life By Growth
- Podcast
- Sadler's Lectures
- Published
- Jul 21, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 683
- Processing state
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Summary
This lecture discusses key ideas from American philosopher Derick Parfit's book Reasons And Persons, specifically the chapter titled "The Repugnant Conclusion". Specifically it examines his further development of the overall argument in that chapter, looking at how population growth over time could in multiple ways lower the quality of life or the overall happiness for members of a given population. He projects two future populations 100 years from the present, one of which has double the population of the other, lower individual quality of life than the other, but a greater aggregate happiness for that population, and notes that some points of view would say that the greater population is the "better" society. To support my ongoing work, go to my Patreon site - www.patreon.com/sadler If you'd like to make a direct contribution, you can do so here - www.paypal.me/ReasonIO - or at BuyMeACoffee - www.buymeacoffee.com/A4quYdWoM You can find over 4500 philosophy videos in my main YouTube channel - www.youtube.com/user/gbisadler Get Derek Parfit's Reasons And Persons here - https://amzn.to/4etfqcw