David Benatar ( born David Benatar ; born December 8, 1966 ) is a South African philosopher and writer, professor at the University of Cape Town [2] . He became best known as the author of the book " Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence" , in which he claims from the standpoint of anti-natalism that birth is a great harm done to every existing person, and, as a result, the birth of sentient beings is associated with many moral problems [3] .
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Content
Asymmetry of Benatar
David Benatar believes that since harm is an ethically incorrect act and, therefore, must be avoided, there must be an ethical imperative against the start of new lives, since the birth of a new creature (of any sensory species) almost always entails significant harm to the same creature. According to Benatar, any newly created creature of a sensing kind (almost always) is doomed to suffering in advance, even if his living conditions are constantly improving. One of his arguments, called the “Benatarova Asymmetry” , is one of the well-known asymmetries related to demographic ethics, and is based on the following premises:
The presence of suffering is evil.
Having pleasures is good.
The absence of suffering is good, even if it is not experienced by anyone.
Lack of pleasures is not evil if there is no one for whom this lack of pleasures is a loss.
The being of an individual almost necessarily includes both suffering (1) and pleasure (2). At the same time, the absence of being does not lead to any negative consequences and avoids suffering (3). A non-existent subject does not receive a benefit (4), but a non-existent subject also lacks a need for a good. From the point of view of Professor Benatar, "absolutely any suffering is enough to acknowledge the harm of being born." [four]
| Scenario A (X exists) | Scenario B (X never existed) |
|---|---|
| (1) The presence of suffering (Bad) | (3) Lack of suffering (Good) |
| (2) Having fun (Good) | (4) Lack of pleasure (Not bad) |
Bibliography
Author
- Be natar, David (2001). Ethics for Everyday. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-240889-8.
- Benatar, David (2006). Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence. Clarendon Press. ISBN 978-0-19-929642-2.
- Benatar, David (2012). The Second Sexism: Discrimination Against Men and Boys. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-67451-2.
- Benatar, David; Wasserman, David (2015). Debating Procreation: Is It Wrong to Reproduce ?. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-027311-8.
- Archard, David; Benatar, David (2016). Procreation and Parenthood: The Ethics of Bearing and Rearing Children. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-874815-1.
- Benatar, David (2017). The Human Predicament: A Candid Guide to Life's Biggest Questions. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190633813.
Editor
- Benatar, David, ed. (2006). Cutting to the core: exploring the ethics of contested surgeries. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7425-5001-8.
- Ethics for Everyday . New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002.
- Life, Death & Meaning: Key Philosophical Readings on the Big Questions (2004)
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 https://www.courrierinternational.com/article/idees-pourquoi-il-ne-faut-pas-faire-denfants
- ↑ David Benatar, Department of Philosophy, Capetown University . The official site of the University of Cape Town .
- ↑ Steyn, Mark. Children? Not if you love the planet (English) // Orange County Register: Journal. - 2007 .-- December 14.
- ↑ Benatar, David. Better never to have been: the harm of coming into existence . - Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2006 .-- xi, 237 pages p. - ISBN 0199296421 , 9780199296422, 9780199549269, 0199549265.