Table 1 The three views on non-identity in relation to Parfit’s thought experiments
From: Is the non-identity problem relevant to public health and policy? An online survey
View | Depletion | Two Medical Programmes |
|---|---|---|
Person-affecting principle | Choose depletion, since it will not harm anyone in future and it will drastically improve people’s lives now. | Choose pregnancy testing, since pre-conception testing would not benefit any specific individuals. |
Person-affecting priority | Choose depletion, unless the long-term impact on quality of life impacts under depletion are great enough or the short-term benefits are too small. | Choose pregnancy testing, unless pre-conception testing would be sufficiently more cost-effective. |
No-difference | Choose conservation, since it will lead to the greatest improvement in quality of life overall. It does not matter that it does not benefit specific individuals. | The programmes are morally equivalent. If one would be more cost-effective than the other, choose that one. |