Sometime in middle school Sam began to think more systematically and globally about ethical obligations. While he was still in high school, Sam started to think hard about the implications of utilitarianism for how he should live his life. There is great nobility in his indifference to his own happiness, but there is also great sadness for us as parents. After everything came apart in November 2022, Sam shared a lot of things with his dad and me that he had never said before. In the end, I am in no position to argue him out of his subjective experience of life.

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Persons: Sam, Derik Parfit, veganism, I've Organizations: MIT Locations: Bay