Derek Parfit on Human Nature
Browse 2 quotations attributed to Derek Parfit, catalogued under Human Nature, with dates where available.
This page displays 2 quotations attributed to Derek Parfit and filed under "Human Nature" in QuoteLineage. The selection is ordered by stored importance and quality scores, not citation counts. A topic label describes how an entry is catalogued; it does not establish the theme's importance in the author's work.
Attributed to Derek Parfit, entry #102819: "We are paternalists when we make someone act in his own interests."
Attributed to Derek Parfit, entry #227594: "Until this century, most of mankind lived in small communities. What each did could affect only a few others. But conditions have now changed. Each of us can now, in countless way…"
2 Quotes by Derek Parfit on Human Nature
"We are paternalists when we make someone act in his own interests."
"Until this century, most of mankind lived in small communities. What each did could affect only a few others. But conditions have now changed. Each of us can now, in countless ways, affect countless other people. We can have real though small effects on thousands or millions of people. When these effects are widely dispersed, they may be either trivial, or imperceptible. It now makes a great difference whether we continue to believe that we cannot have greatly harmed r benefited others unless there are people with obvious grounds for resentment or gratitude."