THE NEW NEO-KANTIAN AND REDUCTIONIST DEBATE

Abstract: Has Derek Parfit modified his views on personal identity in light of Quassim Cassam's neo‐Kantian argument that to experience the world as objective, we must think of ourselves as enduring subjects of experience? Both parties suggest there is no longer a serious dispute between them. I retrace the path that led to this truce, and contend that the debate remains open. Parfit's recent work reveals a re‐formulation of his ostensibly abandoned claim that there could be impersonal descriptions of reality. I show why Parfit still needs this claim, and how it conflicts with the neo‐Kantian view.