Timothy Rice
Parfit
Don’t you see, if morality isn’t objective, our lives are meaningless!
Rating: 3/5 – Good not great.
Parfit is a biography of Derek Parfit, a 20th century philospher who was mostly unknown by the general public but revered within his chosen community. Parfit was an eccentric – perhaps autistic – philosopher, who sacrificed nearly every other aspect of his life on the altar of his academic pursuits. The result was an individual who produced some of the most original and important philosophical contributions of the last 100 years while remaining completely obscure to the general public.
Parfit the book was…okay. Parfit the philosopher’s single minded approach to his life unfortunately makes for poor reading material. Much of a book reads like a list of events, rattled off one after another. “Then he got this scholarship and that one, then he graduated from school, then he applied for university”. Parfit was an agreeable, “selfish and benevolent” man who kept to himself and his work. He had no major rivalries, and was involved in no controversy at any point in his life. The man just worked…a LOT.
The subtitle of the book – “his mission to save morality” – calls out Parfit’s late life obsession to find an objective justification for moral behavior. Parfit was convinced that without any such theory the entire universe was completely and totally meaningless. I share Parfit’s conclusion in this matter, but not his belief that it’s possible to find an objective morality without invoking some sort of theistic entity. Indeed, this is the primary reason I have remained a Christian in my adult life.
While Parfit was an uncompelling story, the book nevertheless provoked in me an interest in Parfit’s philosophy. I have been on a bit of a philosophy kick recently and I look forward to examining Derek’s volumes soon.