Derek Parfit: A Philosopher and His Mission to Save Morality - David Edmonds Audiobook

Written by David Edmonds
Read by Zeb Soanes
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 128 Kbps
Unabridged

Parfit: A Philosopher and His Mission to Save Morality
By: David Edmonds
Narrated by: Zeb Soanes
Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
Audiobook
Release date: 04-18-23
Language: English
Publisher: Princeton University Press

Publisher’s summary

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.

©2023 David Edmonds (P)2023 Princeton University Press

Critic reviews

“Picture in your head: ‘a philosopher.’ Does he have a wild mane of white hair? Does he ride an old-fashioned bike everywhere, speak in a British accent? Does he have eccentric habits, like carrying a vodka bottle full of water? Does he spend every second of his life trying to solve the most important problems of human existence, and is everyone who meets him in awe of his intellect? The person you imagined existed. His name was Derek Parfit, he was utterly fascinating and delightful and brilliant, and with this book David Edmonds has painted him a beautiful, thorough, and compelling portrait.”—Michael Schur, creator of The Good Place and author of How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question
“In his monumental biography of the moral philosopher Derek Parfit, David Edmonds renders the movements of a quicksilver mind, the allure of a charismatic personality, the drama of a cloistered life.”—Sylvia Nasar, author of A Beautiful Mind

“Although Derek Parfit led a uniquely cloistered existence, immersed in his work, his life was not without drama, as David Edmonds’s sympathetic but not uncritical biography shows. This is likely to be the definitive biography of this irresistibly intriguing, indefatigable, and finally elusive thinker: for many, the great moral philosopher of our time.”—Joyce Carol Oates