Antinatalism Quote by David Benatar
““It is not the case that one can create new people on the assumption that if they are not pleased to have come into existence they can simply kill themselves. Once somebody has come into existence and attachments with that person have been formed, suicide can cause the kind of pain that makes the pain of childlessness mild by comparison. Somebody contemplating suicide knows (or should know) this. This places an important obstacle in the way of suicide. One’s life may be bad, but one must consider what affect ending it would have on one’s family and friends. There will be times when life has become so bad that it is unreasonable for the interests of the loved ones in having the person alive to outweigh that person’s interests in ceasing to exist. When this is true will depend in part on particular features of the person for whom continued life is a burden. Different people are able to bear different magnitudes of burden. It may even be indecent for family members to expect that person to continue living. On other occasions one’s life may be bad but not so bad as to warrant killing oneself and thereby making the lives of one’s family and friends still much worse than they already are.””
About This Quote
Source Book: Better Off Dead: The Ethics of Suicide, David Benatar, 2017
Suicide may relieve personal suffering but inflicts deep pain on loved ones, creating a moral obstacle that must be weighed against personal distress.
In simple terms: Suicide hurts family; consider their pain.
Weigh personal pain against impact on loved ones.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- personal crisis
- mental health counseling
- family discussions
- ethical decision making
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- Can you imagine the ripple effects of your death?
- What alternatives exist to alleviate suffering?
Suicide can sometimes be justified when personal burden is extreme and no support exists.