Monday, 22 April 2024

Predicament of Existence

 

This Wednesday's discussion (24/3/24) will be based on the following ABC Philosopher Zone program: 

Predicament of Existence 

An important question is -- Is it necessarily better for a child to have been born than not?

Given the following obvious points, is it morally justifiable for parents to bring a child into existence?

  • There is a lot of pain and suffering in this world.
  • Old age and death are not good for many.
  • The future is uncertain with many challenges for humans.
  • Like other animals, humans will become extinct one day.
  • A non-existent being cannot suffer.
  • A being existing in this world can and do suffer.
  • Humans do more harm than good to the environment and to other animals and plants. 
  • Parents cannot know the future their child will experience.

You can find out more about the topic from the following websites:

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antinatalism

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: https://iep.utm.edu/anti-natalism/

The Ethics Centre: https://ethics.org.au/anti-natalism-the-case-for-not-existing/

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