''Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence'' is a 2006 book by South African philosopher

David Benatar David Benatar (born 8 December 1966) is a South Africa, South African philosopher, Academy, academic and author. He is best known for his advocacy of antinatalism in his book ''Better Never to Have Been, Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of C ...

, best known for being associated with

antinatalism Antinatalism or anti-natalism is the view that procreation is wrong. Antinatalists argue that humans should abstain from procreation because it is morally wrong. In scholarly and literary writings, various ethical arguments have been put forth i ...

and

philosophical pessimism Philosophical pessimism is a family of philosophical views that assign a negative value to life or existence. Philosophical pessimists commonly argue that the world contains an Empiricism, empirical prevalence of pains over pleasures, that existe ...

. The book was preceded by Benatar's 1997 paper "Why It Is Better Never to Come into Existence", where he expounded on what would eventually become the book's major concepts.

Summary

''Better Never to Have Been'' directly concerns Benatar's antinatalist philosophy: sentient beings are harmed when they are brought into existence, and it is therefore wrong to procreate. He derives this conclusion from two arguments: an asymmetry between good and bad things, such as pleasure and pain, and the view that human beings have an unreliable assessment of life's quality.

Asymmetry between pleasure and pain

Benatar argues that there is what he calls an asymmetry between good and bad things, such as pleasure and pain: # the absence of pain is good, even if that good is not enjoyed by anyone, whereas # the absence of pleasure is not bad unless there is somebody for whom this absence is a deprivation. His justification for this argument is that the absence of pleasure is only bad when somebody exists to experience that absence; if pleasure is absent and there is no person to be deprived of it, it is not bad. On the subject of

childlessness Childlessness is the state of not having children. Childlessness may have personal, social or political significance. Childlessness, which may be by choice or circumstance, is distinguished from voluntary childlessness, which is voluntarily havin ...

, he further writes that "the reason why we do not lament our failure to bring somebody into existence is because absent pleasures are not bad."

Critical reception

In his review, philosopher

Yujin Nagasawa Yujin Nagasawa (born 23 June 1975) is a Japanese-born British philosopher specialising in the philosophy of religion, the philosophy of mind and applied philosophy. Nagasawa is H.G. Wood Professor of the Philosophy of Religion (formerly known as ...

questioned why Benatar framed ''Better Never to Have Been'' as a positive thesis, rather than as a counter-intuitive philosophical puzzle. As a result, Nagasawa felt that he could not recommend the book to everyone. Bioethicist

David DeGrazia David DeGrazia (born July 20, 1962) is an American moral philosopher specializing in bioethics and animal ethics. He is Professor of Philosophy at George Washington University, where he has taught since 1989, and the author or editor of several b ...

published a rebuttal to Benatar's arguments in 2010; despite the disagreement with Benatar's position, DeGrazia commended the book, stating: "I conclude with praise for his work and the intellectual virtues it embodies." In 2013, Benatar responded to critics of the book in the paper "Still Better Never to Have Been: A Reply to (More of) My Critics".

In popular culture

The creator of ''

True Detective ''True Detective'' is an American anthology crime drama television series created and written by Nic Pizzolatto. The series, broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States, premiered on January 12, 2014. Each season of the ...

'',

Nic Pizzolatto Nicholas Austin Pizzolatto (born October 18, 1975) is an American writer, producer and director. He is best known for creating the HBO crime drama series ''True Detective''. Early life Pizzolatto was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is of Ita ...

, has cited ''Better Never to Have Been'' as an influence on the creation of the character

Rust Cohle Rustin Spencer "Rust" Cohle is a fictional character portrayed by Matthew McConaughey in the first season of the HBO's anthology television series ''True Detective''. He works as a homicide detective for the Louisiana State Police (LSP) alongsid ...

.{{Cite web, title=Writer Nic Pizzolatto on Thomas Ligotti and the Weird Secrets of 'True Detective', url=https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/02/02/writer-nic-pizzolatto-on-thomas-ligotti-and-the-weird-secrets-of-true-detective/, last=Calia, first=Michael, date=2014-02-02, website=WSJ, language=en-US, access-date=2020-05-31

References

2006 non-fiction books English-language books Ethics books Oxford University Press books Philosophy books Works about antinatalism Works about philosophical pessimism