Jeff McMahan

Tim Campbell

James Goodrich

Ketan Ramakrishnan

Derek Parfit, who died in 2017, is widely believed to have been the best moral philosopher in well over a century. The twenty new essays in this book were written in his honour and have all been inspired by his work—in particular, his work in an area of moral philosophy known as 'population ethics', which is concerned with moral issues raised by causing people to exist. Until Parfit began writing about these issues in the 1970s, there was almost no discussion of them in the entire history of philosophy. But his monumental book Reasons and Persons (OUP, 1984) revealed that population ethics abounds in deep and intractable problems and paradoxes that not only challenge all the major moral theories but also threaten to undermine many important common-sense moral beliefs. It is no exaggeration to say that there is a broad range of practical moral issues that cannot be adequately understood until fundamental problems in population ethics are resolved. These issues include abortion, prenatal injury, preconception and prenatal screening for disability, genetic enhancement and eugenics generally, meat eating, climate change, reparations for historical injustice, the threat of human extinction, and even proportionality in war. Although the essays in this book address foundational problems in population ethics that were discovered and first discussed by Parfit, they are not, for the most part, commentaries on his work but instead build on that work in advancing our understanding of the problems themselves. The contributors include many of the most important and influential writers in this burgeoning area of philosophy.

The Legacy of Derek Parfit

Ethics and Existence

Derek Parfit, who died in 2017, is widely believed to have been the best moral philosopher in well over a century. The twenty new essays in this book were written in his honour and have all been inspired by his work--in particular, his work in an area of moral philosophy known as 'population ethics', which is concerned with moral issues raised by causing people to exist. Until Parfit began writing about these issues in the 1970s, there was almost no discussion of them in the entire history of philosophy. But his monumental book Reasons and Persons (OUP, 1984) revealed that population ethics abounds in deep and intractable problems and paradoxes that not only challenge all the major moral theories but also threaten to undermine many important common-sense moral beliefs. It is no exaggeration to say that there is a broad range of practical moral issues that cannot be adequately understood until fundamental problems in population ethics are resolved. These issues include abortion, prenatal injury, preconception and prenatal screening for disability, genetic enhancement and eugenics generally, meat eating, climate change, reparations for historical injustice, the threat of human extinction, and even proportionality in war. Although the essays in this book address foundational problems in population ethics that were discovered and first discussed by Parfit, they are not, for the most part, commentaries on his work but instead build on that work in advancing our understanding of the problems themselves. The contributors include many of the most important and influential writers in this burgeoning area of philosophy.

Intentional Beauty

Krister Bykvist

Gustaf Arrhenius

Elizabeth Finneron-Burns

'The Oxford Handbook of Population Ethics' presents up-to-date theoretical analyses of various problems associated with the moral standing of future people and animals in current decision-making. The essays in this handbook shed light on the value of population change and the nature of our obligations to future generations. It brings together world-leading philosophers to introduce readers to some of the paradoxes of population ethics, challenge some fundamental assumptions that may be taken for granted in debates concerning the value of population change, and apply these problems and assumptions to real-world decisions.--

The Oxford Handbook of Population Ethics

Principles and Persons contains twenty-one new essays addressed to themes drawn from the work of the late Derek Parfit. Topics include the nature of reasons and duties, the rationality of our attitudes to time, and the question of personal identity.

Principles and Persons

The promise of competitiveness and economic growth in so-called smart cities is widely advertised in Europe and the US. The promise is focussed on global talent and knowledge economies and not on learning and innovation. But to really achieve smart cities – that is to create the conditions of continuous learning and innovation – this book argues that there is a need to understand what is below the surface and to examine the mechanisms which affect the way cities learn and then connect together. This book draws on quantitative and qualitative data with concrete case studies to show how networks already operating in cities are used to foster and strengthen connections in order to achieve breakthroughs in learning and innovation. Going beyond smart cities means understanding how cities construct, convert and manipulate relationships that grow in urban environments. Cities discussed in this book – Amman, Barcelona, Bilbao, Charlotte,Curitiba, Juarez, Portland, Seattle and Turin – illuminate a blind spot in the literature. Each of these cities has achieved important transformations, and learning has played a key role, one that has been largely ignored in academic circles and practice concerning competitiveness and innovation.

How Cities Network, Learn and Innovate

Beyond Smart Cities

Through the blistering heat rising off the desert highway, Mark Axton deftly maneuvers a sports car at high speed. A test-driver for a major automobile magazine, the handsome, charismatic Axton lives a life of adventure that other men can only dream of. Yet as Axton and his assistant conduct their test-drive on this particular day, they are about to experience a chance encounter with a former racecar driver and his gruff mechanic that could change Axton's life, and the lives of every human being on the planet, forever. In Mech-Row we meet a cast of characters thrown together by the unbelievable invention of the first truly nonpolluting high-performance automobile. As Axton and his new partners attempt to build and test a working prototype, their lives become interwoven in the pursuit of a revolutionary wonder vehicle that could actually become the solution to the world's pollution crisis. Mech-Row takes us on a journey at a hundred miles per hour as Axton races to bring the amazing discovery to the world's attention. A fast-paced thriller, Mech-Row is a standout in a new type of fiction set against the backdrop of the modern-day plight of planet Earth.

WHEELS OF DREAMS

MECH-ROW

Harald Fuhr

This publication examines the various innovative projects on-going in Latin America, where fledging and developing local government policies are being introduced for reforming and improving services for the local communities whom they serve. The emergence of decentralised democracies in this region of the world offers may new challenges, that are dependent on building communities open to enterprise and innovation. Among such innovations are popular participation, service delivery, privatization and personnel management. Case studies of such developments are documented in this publication. For outside agencies and countries providing donor finance to this region, a greater awareness is required of the local policies that are being implemented. The World Bank recommends a process of participation in public choice, and a fostering of greater co-operation at a local level.

Case Studies from Latin America

Leadership and Innovation in Subnational Government

As if by unseen signal toward the end of the 1980s, many Latin American governments suddenly transferred money and decision-making power to local municipalities. At the same time, national authorities allowed local governments to choose their leaders in free and open elections. The resulting revolution has been profound in its reach and stunning in the silent shift of power from central to local authorities. The Quiet Revolution traces the growth and effects of decentralization and democratization in Latin America throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Based on first-hand accounts from mayors, local officials, and neighborhood leaders, Tim Campbell focuses on those cities and towns that made the most of their new intergovernmental arrangements. He further argues that the reforms, which are vital to long-term sustainable growth in the region, are in danger of being smothered by current policy responses from national and international institutions. Campbell's research, conducted over a ten-year span, counters conventional wisdom about the role of development banks in the process of state reform and offers timely insights into similar events taking place in other parts of the world.

Tim Campbell

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