This review originally appeared on Goodreads on March 5, 2019.

Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence

By David Benatar – Oxford University Press – October 19, 2006

Review by Robin Marx

Compared to a state of non-existence, coming into existence is always a net harm. The pains and discomforts of life outweigh the pleasures, despite cognitive biases that lead people to emphasize the positive and downplay the (often pretty ubiquitous) negative. Procreating leads to an increase in harm in the world by creating a new sufferer, one incapable of consenting to existence. The extinction of sentient life is a goal to strive for, and sooner rather than later. Individual suicide isn't a good option, however, as it harms those left behind.

When presented with these arguments, people tend to react against them reflexively and quite viscerally. “Was sentient life a mistake?” is sort of a heavy question, and one that involves everyone alive in the world. While Benatar's anti-natalist thesis is a bleak one, his arguments are made in a patient, systematic, and persuasive manner.

While I am open to contrary arguments, I found it difficult to poke holes in Benatar's philosophy myself and appreciated (this is not a book to be “enjoyed”) the food-for-thought.

★★★★☆

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