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Benatar's Asymmetry Argument
Benatar's asymmetry argument for antinatalism Antinatalism or anti-natalism is the philosophical value judgment that procreation is unethical or unjustifiable. Antinatalists thus argue that humans should abstain from making children. Some antinatalists consider coming into existence to alw ... is an argument based on the difference between harms and benefits viewed in two scenarios — when the person in question exists and when the person in question never exists. The argument, introduced by David Benatar in his 2006 book, '' Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence'', aims to establish that coming into existence is always a harm for the one who's coming into the world. The argument David Benatar argues that there is a crucial asymmetry between the good and the bad things, such as pleasure and pain: :1. the presence of pain is bad; :2. the presence of pleasure is good; however :3. the absence of pain is good, even if that good is not enjoyed by anyon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antinatalism
Antinatalism or anti-natalism is the philosophical value judgment that procreation is unethical or unjustifiable. Antinatalists thus argue that humans should abstain from making children. Some antinatalists consider coming into existence to always be a serious harm. Their views are not necessarily limited only to humans but may encompass all sentient creatures, arguing that coming into existence is a serious harm for sentient beings in general. There are various reasons why antinatalists believe reproduction is problematic. The most common arguments for antinatalism include that life entails inevitable suffering, death is inevitable, and humans are born without their consent (that is to say, they cannot choose whether or not they come into existence). Additionally, although some people may turn out to be happy, this is not guaranteed, so to procreate is to gamble with another person's suffering. There is also an axiological asymmetry between good and bad things in life, such t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Benatar
David Benatar (; born 1966) is a South African philosopher, academic, and author. He is best known for his work in moral philosophy and for advancing the position of antinatalism, the view that coming into existence is a serious harm. He is the author of ''Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence'' (2006), in which he argues that procreation is always morally wrong because it imposes harm by bringing sentient beings into existence. Central to this view is his asymmetry argument, which holds that the absence of pain is good even if no one benefits from it, while the absence of pleasure is not bad unless someone is deprived of it. Benatar has also written on topics including death, ethics, human suffering, and gender discrimination. He is emeritus professor of philosophy at the University of Cape Town and a member of the editorial board of the '' Journal of Controversial Ideas''. Education and career Benatar is the son of Solomon Benatar, a global-health ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Harm Of Coming Into Existence
''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the most frequently used word in the English language; studies and analyses of texts have found it to account for seven percent of all printed English-language words. It is derived from gendered articles in Old English which combined in Middle English and now has a single form used with nouns of any gender. The word can be used with both singular and plural nouns, and with a noun that starts with any letter. This is different from many other languages, which have different forms of the definite article for different genders or numbers. Pronunciation In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic pronoun ''thee' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antinatalism
Antinatalism or anti-natalism is the philosophical value judgment that procreation is unethical or unjustifiable. Antinatalists thus argue that humans should abstain from making children. Some antinatalists consider coming into existence to always be a serious harm. Their views are not necessarily limited only to humans but may encompass all sentient creatures, arguing that coming into existence is a serious harm for sentient beings in general. There are various reasons why antinatalists believe reproduction is problematic. The most common arguments for antinatalism include that life entails inevitable suffering, death is inevitable, and humans are born without their consent (that is to say, they cannot choose whether or not they come into existence). Additionally, although some people may turn out to be happy, this is not guaranteed, so to procreate is to gamble with another person's suffering. There is also an axiological asymmetry between good and bad things in life, such t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asymmetry (population Ethics)
The Asymmetry, also known as the Procreation Asymmetry, is the idea in population ethics that there is a moral or evaluative asymmetry between bringing into existence individuals with good or bad lives. It was first discussed by Jan Narveson in 1967, and Jeff McMahan coined the term 'the Asymmetry' in 1981. McMahan formulates the Asymmetry as follows: "while the fact that a person's life would be worse than no life at all ... constitutes a strong moral reason for not bringing him into existence, the fact that a person's life would be worth living provides no (or only a relatively weak) moral reason for bringing him into existence." Professor Nils Holtug formulates the Asymmetry evaluatively in terms of the value of outcomes instead of in terms of moral reasons. Holtug's formulation says that "while it detracts from the value of an outcome to add individuals whose lives are of overall negative value, it does not increase the value of an outcome to add individuals whose lives are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philosophical Pessimism
Philosophical pessimism is a philosophical tradition that argues that life is not worth living and that non-existence is preferable to existence. Thinkers in this tradition emphasize that suffering outweighs pleasure, happiness is fleeting or unattainable, and existence itself does not hold inherent value or an intrinsic purpose. Philosophers such as Arthur Schopenhauer suggest responses to life's suffering ranging from artistic contemplation to Asceticism, ascetic withdrawal, while Buddhism advocates for spiritual practices. Pessimism often addresses the ethics of both creating and continuing life. Antinatalism, Antinatalists assert that bringing new life into a world of suffering is morally wrong, and some pessimists view suicide as a rational response in extreme circumstances. The roots of pessimism trace back to ancient philosophies and religions. History of Buddhism in India, Buddhism in ancient India identified life as fundamentally marked by suffering (''duḥkha''). At t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Better Never To Have Been
''Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence'' is a 2006 book by South African philosopher David Benatar, in which he argues for antinatalism, the philosophical position that coming into existence is always a harm. Benatar defends this view primarily through two arguments: the asymmetry argument, which holds that the absence of pain is good even when not experienced, while the absence of pleasure is not bad unless someone is deprived of it; and an argument from philosophical pessimism, which asserts that due to cognitive biases, human beings systematically underestimate the negative aspects of life. The book expands on ideas first presented in Benatar's 1997 paper "Why It Is Better Never to Come into Existence", and has received both praise and criticism from philosophers and ethicists. It has also influenced cultural works, most notably the television series ''True Detective''. Background The book builds upon arguments first developed in Benatar's 1997 pap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Human Predicament
''The Human Predicament: A Candid Guide to Life's Biggest Questions'' is a philosophy book by David Benatar, which makes a case for philosophical pessimism, published by Oxford University Press in 2017. The book presents Benatar's views on a range of philosophical issues, arguing, among other topics, that having children is immoral, that death is bad despite much of human life being spent in suffering, and that suicide may be a morally justified action more often than is commonly assumed. ''The Human Predicament'' has been favorably compared to '' The Conspiracy Against the Human Race'' by Thomas Ligotti, the worldview presented in Ecclesiastes, and the works of philosopher Thomas Metzinger. Summary Benatar posits that there are multiple types of meaning, ranging from the cosmic to the terrestrial perspectives. Terrestrial meaning is obtainable (by having importance to family or community, for example), but there is no cosmic meaning to human existence. He argues that the world ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bioethics
Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, medicine, and technologies. It proposes the discussion about moral discernment in society (what decisions are "good" or "bad" and why) and it is often related to medical policy and practice, but also to broader questions as environment, well-being and public health. Bioethics is concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, theology and philosophy. It includes the study of values relating to primary care, other branches of medicine (" the ethics of the ordinary"), ethical education in science, animal, and environmental ethics, and public health. Etymology The term ''bioethics'' (Greek , "life"; , "moral nature, behavior") was coined in 1927 by Fritz Jahr in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philosophy Of Biology
The philosophy of biology is a subfield of philosophy of science, which deals with epistemology, epistemological, metaphysics, metaphysical, and ethics, ethical issues in the biological and biomedical sciences. Although philosophers of science and philosophers generally have long been interested in biology (e.g., Aristotle, René Descartes, Descartes, and Immanuel Kant, Kant), philosophy of biology only emerged as an independent field of philosophy in the 1960s and 1970s, associated with the research of David Hull (philosopher) , David Hull. Philosophers of science then began paying increasing attention to biology, from the rise of Neodarwinism in the 1930s and 1940s to the discovery of the structure of DNA in 1953 to more recent advances in genetic engineering. Other key ideas include the Reduction (philosophy), reduction of all life processes to biochemical reactions, and the incorporation of psychology into a broader neuroscience. Overview Philosophers of biology examine the pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
