Better Never to Have Been

Synonyms

Antinatalism key text; Antinatalist philosophy of David Benatar

Definition

A book by the philosopher David Benatar, published in 2006, advocating the antinatalist claim.

Introduction

According to David Benatar, it is “better never to have been” and it would be morally better if the human race was extinct. That is, coming into existence always causes serious harm to the individual, and therefore, procreating is always morally wrong (the antinatalist claim). In this way, it would be best if the human race became extinct as then there would be no one to suffer this harm. This is not to say that the antinatalist claim is one that promotes human death (mass suicide, genocide or speciacide, devastating natural disasters, etc.). In some cases, the antinatalist would support the death of an individual but typically only when the individual is experiencing immense suffering and would prefer to die sooner rather than later. This is not a particularly radical view and many, if not most,...