Renegade Ape - Psychology, Philosophy, and the Overton Wasteland

#060 - The Curse of Existence (Prof. David Benatar)

07.21.2018 - By Danny WhittakerPlay

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Prof. David Benatar joins us to explore the concept of antinatalism, the philosophical idea that procreation is morally bad because of the inevitable suffering that beings will experience as a result of their being brought into existence.

We examine David's assertion that "even the best lives, contrary to popular opinion, ultimately contain more bad than good", why the negative aspects of life tend to go unrecognized, whether the scale of immorality for bringing life into the world is culturally dependant, why the testimonials of people who claim to have lead a happy life ought not be to taken at face value, the anti-natalist position on sex and abortion, and whether or not there's anything we can do as a species to make coming into existence worthwhile.

*** BOOKS MENTIONED ***

"The Human Predicament" https://amzn.to/2NyPgpk

"Better Never to Have Been" https://amzn.to/2uPcCQ1

"The Second Sexism" https://amzn.to/2NAJLXB

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*** CREDITS ***

Theme Music: Falling Down by Ryan Little http://youtube.com/user/TheR4C2010

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