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Schopenhauer makes two curiously inconsistent claims about the wretchedness of human existence. We can object, he claims, both that our lives are ﬁlled with suffering which makes them worse than nothing, and that time passes so swiftly that we shall soon be dead. These are like Woody Allen’s two complaints about his hotel: ‘The food is terrible, and they serve such small portions!’

— Derek Parfit On What Matters: Volume Two (2011)

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More quotes by Derek Parfit

What now matters most is how we respond to various risks to the survival of humanity.

On What Matters: Volume One (2011)

To be a person, a being must be self-conscious, aware of its identity and its continued existence over time.

Reasons and Persons (1984)

On all plausible theories, everyone’s well-being consists at least in part in being happy, and avoiding suffering.

On What Matters: Volume One (2011)

I am less concerned about the rest of my own life, and more concerned about the lives of others.

Reasons and Persons (1984)

All other things being equal, the mere fact that something “isn’t done” is in itself an excellent reason for doing it.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Derek Parfit (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.