Preface

Relatively unremarkable, the only notable thing is that he seemed quite pessimistic about the expected impact of his work, though I suppose pessimism is what I would expect. The preceding sentence was not intended to be derogatory.

Introduction

Ibid means that the same source cited. He refutes the idea that this conclusion that it is good to not exist is absurd. That conclusion is absurd, because one can do no good for one that does not exist, because definitionally nothing can be done to them. He refutes this by inverting this, and arguing that existing is bad for those existing. I think that this is an as-of-yet unproven assertion that existence is bad for those existing, but I do accept the idea that existencecan be bad for those existing. He asserts that life is ultimately pointless. He argues that pro-natal views are inherently advantaged, which I accept given that I accept that a child is inherently more likely to choose views agreeing with their parents than against them. He speaks a little of social pressures, but that’s mostly uninteresting to me, apart from this quote:

You should have one for your husband, one for your wife, and one for your country (Reuters, ‘Brace yerself Sheila, it’s your patriotic duty ‘, Cape Times, Thursday, 13 May 2004, I. I, Amitav, found this here: https://iol.co.za/news/eish/2004-05-13-brace-yourself-sheila-its-your-duty/)

He also argues that the right to procreative freedom being more important than the right to immigrate is bad, which I disagree with for reasons I cannot currently articulate. I think it’s something to do with procreation being more “natural” somehow than immigration, but I have no arguments to back it up. He also argues against folks that say that one shouldn’t have kids because the world’s a horrible place, arguing that even if there were mounds and mounds fewer suffering, it would still be unwise to procreate.

The absence of bad things […] is good even if there is nobody to enjoy it (Better Never To Have Been, David Benatar, page 14)

I think that this is refutable, but I struggle in this moment to refute it.
That was heavy, here’s a drawing of a goose.

Have a great day!