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I would argue that creating a new human being is an act of charity. Most people are very happy to exist, and probably grateful that their parents chose to creat
by dcolkitt 6y ago
I would argue that creating a new human being is an act of charity. Most people are very happy to exist, and probably grateful that their parents chose to create them. Especially given the fact that parenting requires a huge investment of time and resources.
That doesn't mean that parents can't be bad people, or that parenthood is the only criteria of goodness. But knowing that somebody chose to become a parent strongly updates my priors about their character.
- beaugunderson 6y agoFor a compelling opposing view see "Better Never to Have Been": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Better_Never_to_Have_Been https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Better_Never_to_Have_Been
- dcolkitt 6y agoI've read it. Benatar does a lot of mental gymnastics to arrive at his conclusion. But the simple argument, that he never overcomes, is how many people if given access to a time machine would use it to prevent their own birth? How many would use it to prevent the creation of life on Earth? Even after reading Benatar's carefully crafted tome, I doubt that very many readers would be convinced to change their answers to these questions.
- gfxgirl 6y agoplenty of people don't choose or choose under a kind of duress (religious guilt)
- dcolkitt 6y agoSure, that's true. And in past times that was a stronger critique. But in the modern Western world, this only applies to a tiny fraction of parents. The vast majority of parents today willingly chose to become parents.
- gfxgirl 6y agoNo idea if it's true but first google git says 45% of pregnancies in the USA are un-intended. Of course it's still a choice to birth the child and become a parent