Released on 13th May On What Matters
Volumes One and Two
Derek Parfit Publishing 12th May 2011 in hardback at £19.99 each or £30 for the 2-volume set
‘The most eagerly awaited book in philosophy’
On What Matters is an ambitious treatment of the main theories of ethics which illuminates a wide range of issues in moral philosophy and beyond. Written in the uniquely lucid and compelling style for which Parfit is famous it contains specially written commentaries by four eminent philosophers. Parfit's On What Matters is a major work in moral philosophy and is the long-awaited follow-up to his 1984 book Reasons and Persons, one of the landmarks of twentieth-century philosophy. Parfit now presents a powerful new treatment of reasons, rationality, and normativity, and a critical examination of three systematic moral theories – Kant's ethics, contractualism, and consequentialism – leading to his own ground-breaking synthetic conclusion.
Along the way he discusses a wide range of moral issues, such as the significance of consent, treating people as a means rather than an end, and free will and responsibility. On What Matters is already the most-discussed work in moral philosophy: its publication is likely to establish it as a modern classic which we hope everyone working on moral philosophy will have to read, and which many others will turn to for stimulation and illumination.
For further information or if you would like to speak to Derek Parfit please contact Kate.Farquhar-Thomson@oup.com or 01865 353423
 | 