
David Boonin presents a new account of the non-identity problem: a puzzle about our obligations to people who do not yet exist. Our actions sometimes have an effect not only on the quality of life that people will enjoy in the future, but on which particular people will exist in the future to enjoy it. In cases where this is so, the combination of certain assumptions that most people seem to accept can yield conclusions that most people seem to reject. The non-identity problem has important implications both for ethical theory and for a number of topics in applied ethics, including controversial issues in bioethics, environmental ethics and disability ethics. It has been the subject of a great deal of discussion for nearly four decades, but this is the first book-length study devoted exclusively to its examination. Boonin begins by explaining what the problem is, why the problem matters, and what criteria a solution to the problem must satisfy in order to count as a successful one. He then provides a critical survey of the solutions to the problem that have thus far been proposed in the sizeable literature that the problem has generated and concludes by developing and defending an unorthodox alternative solution, one that differs fundamentally from virtually every other available approach.
This book investigates the non-identity problem, a philosophical puzzle concerning moral obligations toward future individuals whose existence depends on the very actions that affect their quality of life. David Boonin, a professor of philosophy, utilizes a rigorous analytical framework to evaluate existing literature on the subject. He critiques established theories before proposing an original, unorthodox solution that challenges conventional approaches to population ethics and personal identity.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Experts recognize this work as the first comprehensive, book-length treatment of a problem that has occupied philosophers for decades. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which serves as a foundational text for those studying the intersection of bioethics and future-oriented moral responsibility.
Page Count:
320
Publication Date:
2014-01-01
Publisher:
OUP Oxford
ISBN-10:
019150548X
ISBN-13:
9780191505485
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