Sadler's Lectures
Sadler's Lectures
Lectures on classic and contemporary philosophical texts and thinkers by Gregory B. Sadler
Derick Parfit, Reasons And Persons - Utility Monsters And The Repugnant Conclusion
12 minutes Posted Jul 22, 2026 at 3:10 pm.
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Show notes
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 he actual "repugnant conclusion" that his extended argument leads to, which is that it would be better to have a population that is very large but in which people's lives would have a very low quality of life, or a low amount of what makes life worth living for them, by comparison to any smaller population where the members would enjoy a better quality of life but have a lower overall sum of happiness or total amount what makes life worth living.
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