Philosophy Book Club: Derek Parfit’s ‘On What matters’

Our first book will be Derek Parfit’s groundbreaking On What Matters (2011), which the philosopher Peter Singer described as having ‘for the first time in decades, put those who reject objectivism in ethics on the defensive.’ Singer also helpfully noted that ‘ the core of the argument comes in the first 400 pages, which is not an insurmountable challenge for the intellectually curious – particularly given that Parfit, in the best tradition of English-language philosophy, always strives for lucidity, never using obscure words where simple ones will do.’ So we will stick to the first 400 pages in the book club.

Our reading of On What Matters will run over 5 months the dates are Friday 20th April and then 2nd Fridays: 11th May, 8th June, 13th July, 10th August.

This first book is a pilot run; the hope is that if there is enough interest we will keep the book club going with new reading chosen collectively.