What is Derek Parfit?
{{Infobox philosopher | region = Western Philosophy | era = Contemporary philosophy | name = Derek Parfit | image = Derek Parfit at Harvard-April 21, 2015-Effective Altruism (cropped).jpg | image_size = 160px | alt = | caption = Derek Parfit at [[Harvard University]], April 2015 | other_names = | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1942|12|11}} | birth_place = [[Chengdu]], [[China]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2017|01|01|1942|12|11}} | death_place = [[London]], England | spouse = [[Janet Radcliffe Richards]] | alma_mater = [[University of Oxford]] | education = [[Eton College|Eton]] | school_tradition = [[Analytic philosophy]] | main_interests = Ethics, [[personal identity]], [[rationalism]], [[consequentialism]], [[philosophy of mind]] | notable_ideas = {{collapsible list|title={{nbsp}}|Relation R<br/>[[Mere addition paradox|Repugnant conclusion]]<br/>[[On What Matters|Triple Theory]]}} | influences = [[Henry Sidgwick]]<br>[[Immanuel Kant]]<br>[[Christine Korsgaard]]<br>[[John Stuart Mill]]<br>[[Thomas Nagel]] | influenced = [[John Cottingham]]<br>[[Sam Harris (author)]]<br>[[Effective Altruism]] | awards = [[Rolf Schock Prizes]] in Logic and Philosophy {{small|(2014)}} }} '''Derek Parfit''' (11 December 1942 &ndash; 1 January 2017)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dailynous.com/2017/01/02/derek-parfit-1942-2017/|title=Derek Parfit (1942-2017)|date=2 January 2017|website=Daily Nous|access-date=2017-01-02}}</ref> was a [[British people|British]] philosopher. He specialized in problems of [[personal identity]], [[rationality]], ethics, and the relations among them. ==Early life== Parfit was born in [[Chengdu]], [[China]]. His parents, Jessie and Norman Parfit, were British medical doctors who moved to [[Western China]]. After a year in China, Parfit moved to [[Oxford]], England where he was raised. He studied at the [[University of Oxford]]. ==Career== Parfit'