Better Never to Have Been: Harm of Coming into Existence by Benatar
Julianna Candido
Paper 2
In the book; Better Never to Have Been: Harm of Coming into Existence by Benatar presents a provocative argument against bringing into existence is always net harm and never a benefit. The concepts covered in the text are very controversial, as coming into existence is viewed as serious harm. It calls for debates and discussion regarding the benefits and the harm of coming into existence, with philosophers such as Parfit holding a contrary view to Benatar. The text covers extensive concepts, reasons, and values that explain why bringing an individual into existence is doing serious harm. On the other hand, Parfit affirms that existence can be a good thing because of the numerous possibilities. Parfit ascertains that intrinsic properties enhance the creation of numerous possibilities for individuals (Parfait, 136). The focus of the paper is on the conceptual problems of the benefits and hams of nonexistent people using the views of Benatar and Parfit.
The concepts developed by Benatar concerning the coming into existence which is portrayed as s pure harm and postulates that procreation is morally wrong. Two positions form the main argument. The first position is the asymmetry relationship between the benefits and harm of nonexistent people in society. It was based on the view that coming into existence comes with pain and pleasures. The pleasure is perceived and portrayed as a good thing. The presence of pain is a bad thing to occur. According to Benatar, non-existent is good because there is no pain and no one to enjoy it, but lack of or absence of pleasure is not bad unless a person is deprived of the right to enjoy the pleasure. The concept of non-existence is advantageous or beneficial over existence, which has no advantage because the absence of pain is way better than the presence of pain. The focus of Benatar’s conclusion on the first position is that existence is worse compared to non-existence.
On the other hand, the benefits of existence are significant as compared to the contrary views. Without existence, the world would be empty or would not just exist in the first place. Socializing and success in life are great benefits of existence in the world. However, it is impossible to know this if one never existed in the first place. Therefore, it is worth noting that existence has advantages of getting experience, enjoying the pleasures, and learning from the bad experiences that could be a product of bad decisions.
The second position on the subject based IS the fact that there is unreliability in the quality of life self-evaluation. Psychologists point out the mechanisms that cause neglect, which is accompanied by a lot of bad things in one’s life, making life worse than one believes. Benatar does not believe in human existence because of the harm or suffering that one encounters throughout their lives. He questions the significance of living 60 years of suffering and only ten years of happiness (Benatar, 174). In that, individuals are brought into existence only to spend the better part of their lives living in pain and anguish. Hence, Benatar ascertains that it is better not to be born at all than go through suffering. However, life is a product of choices and decisions made that influence the kind of life one leads. No human has the power and right to judge the kind of life one would have before coming into existence except God, the creator. Therefore, it is controversial for Benatar to be judge and jury of existence and nonexistent people.
On the other hand, Parfit believes that the future is determined by intrinsic properties that an individual possesses. According to Parfit, the future is not determined by what happens to other people, but what the individual does (Parfait, 138). Hence Parfit is positive about the future as long as the intrinsic properties align well with the environment. Parfit substantiates the significance of possibilities because different people have different personalities, which can help them stand out. Consequently, Parfit correlates that existence is worth it because the future is full of possibilities as long as individuals behave well.
Secondly, Benatar does not support suicide or taking someone’s life after their lives have taken off. According to Benatar, existence is bad, but ending a life that has taken off is worse (Benatar 280). He explains that lives that have taken off should be saved because they are already in motion, and there is no need to stop. In this instance, Benatar kind of contradicts his original ideologies of suffering and harm. Benatar says that suicide or killing is wrong even when an individual is suffering because their lives are in motion. Most importantly, Benatar is skeptical about the presence of good life; hence he prefers non-existence. He believes that most individuals will live through more suffering than enjoyment in their lives.
On the contrary, Parfit believes in existence because of the uniqueness of life and psychological continuity. Parfit correlates that his life is the last, and there will not be anyone like him in the world after he is gone (Persson 3). In that, there can only be one person with his experiences and development; hence there will never be another him. Thus, existence is interesting because an individual gets to live a unique life then dies. Psychological continuity enables an individual to grow throughout his or her life, thus learning many things and making peace with things they cannot change. Most importantly, Parfit is attracted to the uniqueness of life; individuals can live it as they please without caring about the future.
Benatar’s arguments are correct even though they are disturbing, but they are more realistic when analyzed in the following ways. One, there is no need to give birth to children if one has no means of survival since most of them will end up suffering. Many children are born to very poor parents who cannot even provide for them; hence they end up in foster care or the streets suffering and living in anguish. I believe Benatar’s ideologies can apply in this context since many child deaths are also instigated in this scenario.
The importance of non-existence is the fact that there will be no suffering, street kids, and suicide cases in society. Hard life qualifies the argument of Benatar. However, the people qualified to bring someone into existence are parents. People are engaging in pleasure use protection. Individuals should not end their lives because they are suffering or because it got hard. They should learn to persevere and make something out of the rest of their days. Benatar criticizes suicide and killi8ng because it entails ending a life that has already started. Killing is also wrong, especially if the individual was a key support system for others.
Conclusively, Benatar argues that it is better not to come into existence when there is too much suffering involved; however, Parfit believes in possibilities. According to Parfit, intrinsic properties determine the kind of life one is bound to have, and they are unique. Hence, individuals should exist because they uniquely go through life and go through experiences that no one else can. However, Benatar ascertains that there is no need to bring children into this world if they are bound to suffer. Benatar also discourages suicide because it involves ending a life that has begun. Benatar’s ideologies stand out because they apply to the lives of many in society today. Many children spend most of their lives suffering, and that never ends for some of them throughout their lives.
Works Cited
Benatar, David. Life, Death, and Meaning: Key Philosophical Readings on the Big Questions. Rowman & Littlefield, 2016.