Audio only
Length13h 14m
About this audiobook
This audiobook narrated by Zeb Soanes paints an entertaining and illuminating portrait of a brilliant philosopher who tried to rescue morality from nihilism
Derek Parfit (1942–2017) is the most famous philosopher most people have never heard of. Widely regarded as one of the greatest moral thinkers of the past hundred years, Parfit was anything but a public intellectual. Yet his ideas have shaped the way philosophers think about things that affect us all: equality, altruism, what we owe to future generations, and even what it means to be a person. In
Parfit, David Edmonds presents the first biography of an intriguing, obsessive, and eccentric genius.
Believing that we should be less concerned with ourselves and more with the common good, Parfit dedicated himself to the pursuit of philosophical progress to an extraordinary degree. He always wore gray trousers and a white shirt so as not to lose precious time picking out clothes, he varied his diet as little as possible, and he had only one serious non-philosophical interest: taking photos of Oxford, Venice, and St. Petersburg. In the latter half of his life, he single-mindedly devoted himself to a desperate attempt to rescue secular morality—morality without God—by arguing that it has an objective, rational basis. For Parfit, the stakes could scarcely have been higher. If he couldn't demonstrate that there are objective facts about right and wrong, he believed, his life was futile and all our lives were meaningless.
Connecting Parfit's work and life and offering a clear introduction to his profound and challenging ideas,
Parfit is a powerful portrait of an extraordinary thinker who continues to have a remarkable influence on the world of ideas.
Audiobook details
GenreBiography and Memoir, Philosophy
Length13 hrs 14 mins
Narrated byZeb Soanes
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateApr 18, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Opening Anno, Dedication, Preface
13Chapter 12 - Moral Mathematics
2Chapter 1 - Made in China
14Chapter 13 - The Mind's Eye in Mist and Snow
3Chapter 2 - Prepping for Life
15Chapter 14 - Glory! Promotion!
4Chapter 3 - Eton Titan
16Chapter 15 - The Blues and the Bluebell Woods
5Chapter 4 - History Boy
17Chapter 16 - The Priority View
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6Chapter 5 - Oxford Words
18Chapter 17 - Derekarnia
7Chapter 6 - An American Dream
19Chapter 18 - Alpha Gamma Kant
8Chapter 7 - Soul Man
20Chapter 19 - Climbing the Mountain
9Chapter 8 - Teletransporter
21Chapter 20 - Lifeboats, Tunnels, and Bridges
10Chapter 9 - A Transatlantic Affair
22Chapter 21 - Marriage and Pizza
11Chapter 10 - The Parfit Scandal
23Chapter 22 - Incompatible with Life
12Chapter 11 - Work, Work, Work, and Janet
24Chapter 23 - Parfit's Gamble, Closing Anno
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