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Philosophy and math alumnus publishes article in peer-reviewed journal

�ʱ�������Oliboni��’20 published his first peer-reviewed article in the 2020 issue of��Aperto���������Դ�,��a philosophy journal run by students from the University of North Carolina.��In his article, “Normative Implications of Reductionism about Personal Identity,”��Oliboni��works with ideas that he developed��during��his time at 69ֱ�� as a philosophy and��math��major��and economics minor.��Using the philosophical theory of reductionism��about personal identity, which��Oliboni��explains��as the notion that��“what makes a person the same at two points in time is continuation of that person’s psychology (memories, intentions, etc.).”��He argues that��“all that matters is increasing the quantity��of��positive experiences and reducing the quantity of negative experiences, regardless of the person to whom these experiences happen.”������
Oliboni��explained��that��this argument has significant��philosophical��implications.��“I wanted to write this article because I think it says something important about egoism and altruism. If I am right, then there’s a sense in which selfishness is irrational,” he��said.����
After being��first��introduced to these ideas��in his First Year Seminar,��Oliboni��continued to explore them throughout his time at Wooster.��“The philosophical��training��I received at Wooster was excellent,” he said. “I got introduced to the foundational ideas that inspired the paper by Professor��Mark Wells, who taught my��FYS. I then became obsessed with these ideas and never really stopped thinking or writing about them.”��Oliboni��wrote his junior Independent Study on��reductionism about personal identity��and continued to work with the ideas during his study abroad program at Oxford University and with his philosophy senior I.S. advisor Garrett Thomson, Compton��Professor of Philosophy.����
Oliboni��was excited to have the article accepted because it showed him that��other people are also interested in these ideas��about reductionism and personal identity��in which he is so invested.��“I’ve thought about the ideas in it for a long time,” he said. “It’s nice to see that other people also think there’s some value to it.��It would be great if it got people to respond to my ideas.”��
While��Oliboni��is currently pursuing a Master��of Science��in Economic and Social Sciences at Bocconi University in Milan,��he is still interested in philosophy.��“I want to continue to study philosophy in the future,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop thinking about the ideas in this article.”��

Posted in Alumni on January 20, 2021.