The Non-Identity Problem and the Ethics of Future People

David Boonin presents a new account of the non-identity problem: a puzzle about our obligations to people who do not yet exist. Boonin begins by explaining what the problem is, why the problem matters, and what criteria a solution to the problem must satisfy in order to count as a successful one. He then provides a critical survey of the solutions to the problem that have thus far been proposed in the sizeable literature that the problem has generated and concludes by developing and defending an unorthodox alternative solution, one that differs fundamentally from virtually every other available approach.