failures of communication 6

Misunderstanding Parfit

Derek Parfit is famous for his view about personal identity, which is most fully expounded in his book Reasons and Persons (1984).

I once asked him if he thought that his view had been misunderstood in every possible way. He thought for a while—and then answered ‘Yes’.

I don’t suppose he was right—it’s probably always possible for someone to misunderstand in a new way—but he was near enough.

This is what happens in philosophy. It’s not all bad—misunderstanding is one of the mechanisms of progress in philosophy—but it can be pretty dispiriting.