DEREK PARFIT’S NON-IDENTITY PROBLEM AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY: A PHILOSOPHICAL ANALYSIS

ABSTRACT The debate whether to save for the future people or the present generation should enjoy life to the fullest not minding whether the future generation suffer as a result or not is and has remain an ongoing one. Derek Parfit propounded the theory of Non-identity Problem which challenges traditional notions of moral responsibility by arguing that our actions can affect the identity of future generation. This philosophical conundrum has significant implications for climate change policy, which requires balancing the interests of current and future generations. Through a critical examination of Parfit's theory, this research explores the moral and ethical dimensions of climate change policy-making. The work addresses the following questions: How does Parfit's Non-Identity Problem inform our understanding of intergenerational justice in the context of climate change policy? What are the implications of Parfit's theory for climate change policy-making? In delivering this work, the research adopted the qualitative research design. The historical, expository, analytical and evaluative methods were used. The historical method was used to situate Derek Parfit within a historical epoch while the expository method exposed the concept of the Non-identity Problem; the analytical method analyzed Dereke Parfit’s literatures on Derek Parfit’s Non-identity Problem and the evaluative method drew implications of the Non-identity Problem as it affects Climate Change and Policy Formulation. Data were sourced from primary and secondary sources including original works written by Derek Parfit, other philosophical books, encyclopedias, journals, periodicals and the internet. The work submits that having a flawed existence, however impaired it may be, is more valuable than having never existed at all.