Children Quote by David Benatar
““Bringing people into existence as well as failing to bring people into existence can be regretted. However, only bringing people into existence can be regretted for the sake of the person whose existence was contingent on our decision. This is not because those who are not brought into existence are indeterminate. Instead it is because they never exist. We can regret, for the sake of an indeterminate but existent person that a benefit was not bestowed on him or her, but we cannot regret, for the sake of somebody who never exists and thus cannot thereby be deprived, a good that this never existent person never experiences. One might grieve about not having had children, but not because the children that one could have had have been deprived of existence. Remorse about not having children is remorse for ourselves—sorrow about having missed childbearing and child-rearing experiences. However, we do regret having brought into existence a child with an unhappy life, and we regret it for the child’s sake, even if also for our own sakes. The reason why we do not lament our failure to bring somebody into existence is because absent pleasures are not bad.””
About This Quote
Source Book: “The Human Predicament” by David Benatar, 2014
Regret about having children differs from regret about not having them; we can only regret for existing beings, not for those never born.
In simple terms: We regret for those who exist, not for non‑existent.
Key Takeaway
Reflect on the moral weight of existence.
Themes
ethics
existentialism
parenthood
Mood
thought‑provoking
philosophical
Type
ethical
existential
When to use this quote
- family planning
- philosophical debate
- personal decisions
Key Concepts
non‑existence
moral regret
Questions to Reflect On
- Do we have obligations to potential lives?
- How does this view affect reproductive choices?
A Different Perspective
The argument assumes a specific view of moral relevance.
