{"title":"The Predicament That Wasn’t: A Reply to Benatar","authors":"C. Vitrano","doi":"10.1080/05568641.2020.1850328","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In his recent book The Human Predicament, David Benatar describes the human condition as a tragic predicament, and the upshot is that we ought to refrain from having children and adopt an attitude of pragmatic pessimism. I argue that both his pessimism and anti-natalism are not warranted, and I focus on two features: the lack of meaning in our lives and their poor quality. I begin by arguing that the lack of cosmic meaning does not present a serious reason for regret, and the presence of terrestrial meaning, especially when viewed from the more limited perspectives, is undervalued by Benatar. Then I challenge Benatar’s claims about the quality of our lives, arguing that our resilience to adversity is not something we ought to regret, but to celebrate.","PeriodicalId":46780,"journal":{"name":"Philosophical Papers","volume":"49 1","pages":"457 - 484"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5000,"publicationDate":"2020-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/05568641.2020.1850328","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Philosophical Papers","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/05568641.2020.1850328","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"PHILOSOPHY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Abstract In his recent book The Human Predicament, David Benatar describes the human condition as a tragic predicament, and the upshot is that we ought to refrain from having children and adopt an attitude of pragmatic pessimism. I argue that both his pessimism and anti-natalism are not warranted, and I focus on two features: the lack of meaning in our lives and their poor quality. I begin by arguing that the lack of cosmic meaning does not present a serious reason for regret, and the presence of terrestrial meaning, especially when viewed from the more limited perspectives, is undervalued by Benatar. Then I challenge Benatar’s claims about the quality of our lives, arguing that our resilience to adversity is not something we ought to regret, but to celebrate.
期刊介绍：
Philosophical Papers is an international, generalist journal of philosophy edited in South Africa Original Articles: Articles appearing in regular issues are original, high-quality, and stand-alone, and are written for the general professional philosopher. Submissions are welcome in any area of philosophy and undergo a process of peer review based on initial editor screening and refereeing by (usually) two referees. Special Issues: Topic-based special issues are comprised of both invited and submitted papers selected by guest editors. Recent special issues have included ''Philosophy''s Therapeutic Potential'' (2014, editor Dylan Futter); ''Aging and the Elderly'' (2012, editors Tom Martin and Samantha Vice); ''The Problem of the Criterion'' (2011, editor Mark Nelson); ''Retributive Emotions'' (2010, editor Lucy Allais); ‘Rape and its Meaning/s’ (2009, editor Louise du Toit). Calls for papers for upcoming special issues can be found here. Ideas for future special issues are welcome.
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