The Smuggled Ledger of Moral Mathematics

Philosophics — Philosophical and Political Ramblings · Aug 23, 2026 · 22m

Language philosopher Bry Willis argues that the non-identity problem in moral philosophy is not a genuine paradox of reality, but rather a failure of language. Willis contends that thinkers like Derek Parfit and David Benatar rely on a metaphor of moral accounting, where human well-being is treated as a currency and lives are managed like financial ledgers. This bookkeeping vocabulary falters when applied to potential people who do not yet exist, as the comparative definitions of harm and benefit require a subject to be present in both scenarios. According to Willis, the resulting…