--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bringing people into existence as well as…" description: "\"“Bringing people into existence as well as failing to bring people into existence can be regretted. However, only bringing people into existence can be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/david-benatar-19400_children_bringing-people-into-existence-as-well-a_1278853.jpg" --- # Bringing people into existence as well as failing to bring… ![“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…” quote by David Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/david-benatar-19400_children_bringing-people-into-existence-as-well-a_1278853.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/david-benatar-19400_children_bringing-people-into-existence-as-well-a_1278853.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/david-benatar-19400_children_bringing-people-into-existence-as-well-a_1278853.jpg) > ““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.”” [David Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. 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. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Happy life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Regret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regret/) [Unhappy life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unhappy-life/) ## Related quotes > [You're unhappy with your life because you give up when things don't happen fast enough for you. The bigger the goal the longer it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-parker/you-re-unhappy-with-your-life-because-you-give-up-when-things-don-t/) [Sonya Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-parker/) > [I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/i-have-just-one-day-today-and-i-m-going-to-be-happy-in-it/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [People will spoil your happiness just because they have nothing better to do and because they are unhappy with their own life. Stand your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-moores/people-will-spoil-your-happiness-just-because-they-have-nothing/) [Sarah Moores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-moores/) > [I've had an unhappy life, thank God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-baker/i-ve-had-an-unhappy-life-thank-god/) [Russell Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-baker/) > [If you are interested in preventing animal suffering, the first thing you should give up is eggs and milk because the animals who produce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/if-you-are-interested-in-preventing-animal-suffering-the-first-thing/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [The recipe to an unhappy life in Japan is to want to be Japanese if you are not. Anyone who wants to penetrate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-recipe-to-an-unhappy-life-in-japan-is-to-want-to-be-japanese-if/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Contrary to what many may think, immortality is not a fairy tale invented to compensate for an unhappy life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-lawhead/contrary-to-what-many-may-think-immortality-is-not-a-fairy-tale/) [Stephen R. Lawhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-lawhead/) > [Better to be alone and happy than being with someone and be unhappy all your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucky-dube/better-to-be-alone-and-happy-than-being-with-someone-and-be-unhappy/) [Lucky Dube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucky-dube/) > [If you have done something meritorious, you experience pleasure and happiness; if wrong things, suffering. A happy or unhappy life is your own creation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-have-done-something-meritorious-you-experience-pleasure-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you are not happy with the way your life is right now, you may wanna get rid of what it is that's making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rayshawn-lee/if-you-are-not-happy-with-the-way-your-life-is-right-now-you-may/) Rayshawn Lee > [Why are those who are notoriously undisciplined and unmoral also most contemptuous of religion and morality? They are trying to solace their own unhappy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/why-are-those-who-are-notoriously-undisciplined-and-unmoral-also-most/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [The short, unhappy life of a corn-fed feedlot steer represents the ultimate triumph of industrial thinking over the logic of evolution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/the-short-unhappy-life-of-a-corn-fed-feedlot-steer-represents-the/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [If you're unhappy, what is it in your life that you're not facing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/if-you-re-unhappy-what-is-it-in-your-life-that-you-re-not-facing/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not-3/) [Christopher McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mccandless/) > [Life laughs at you when you are unhappy. Life smiles at you when you are happy. But, Life salutes you when you make others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-laughs-at-you-when-you-are-unhappy-life-smiles-at-you-when-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by David Benatar > [“There’s such a thing as chronic pain, but there’s no such thing as chronic pleasure. ... For an existing person, the presence of bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/there-s-such-a-thing-as-chronic-pain-but-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [David Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/) > [Creating new people, by having babies, is so much a part of human life that it is rarely thought even to require a justification.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/creating-new-people-by-having-babies-is-so-much-a-part-of-human-life/) [David Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/) > [“There is one kind of exception: those who believe that the world is too horrible a place into which to bring children. Such people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/there-is-one-kind-of-exception-those-who-believe-that-the-world-is/) [David Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/) > [“For instance, since none of us lives until age 240, people tend not to think that failing to reach that age makes one’s life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/for-instance-since-none-of-us-lives-until-age-240-people-tend-not-to/) [David Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/) > [On my view there is no net benefit to coming into existence and thus coming into existence is never worth its costs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/on-my-view-there-is-no-net-benefit-to-coming-into-existence-and-thus/) [David Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/) > [Coming into existence is always bad for those who come into existence. In other words, although we may not be able to say of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/coming-into-existence-is-always-bad-for-those-who-come-into-existence/) [David Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/) > [“There is a further (non-distributional) consideration that can affect an assessment of a life’s quality. Arguably, once a life reaches a certain threshold of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/there-is-a-further-non-distributional-consideration-that-can-affect/) [David Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/) > [I am under no illusions. My position, no matter how clearly stated, is likely to be misunderstood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/i-am-under-no-illusions-my-position-no-matter-how-clearly-stated-is/) [David Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/) > [“Life's big questions are big in the sense that they are momentuous. However, contrary to appearances, they are not big in the sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/life-s-big-questions-are-big-in-the-sense-that-they-are-momentuous/) [David Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/) > [“Now it might be suggested that cloning is sometimes worse because, where it is done for the sake of the person cloned, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/now-it-might-be-suggested-that-cloning-is-sometimes-worse-because/) [David Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/) > [“Those who do indeed decide to have a child might do so for any number of reasons, but among these reasons cannot be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/those-who-do-indeed-decide-to-have-a-child-might-do-so-for-any-number/) [David Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/) > [“Parents with dependents are somehow thought to count for more. If, for example, there is some scarce resource—a donor kidney perhaps—and of the two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/parents-with-dependents-are-somehow-thought-to-count-for-more-if-for/) [David Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/) > [“Finally, the optimist’s impatience with or condemnation of pessimism often has a smug macho tone to it (although males have no monopoly of it).…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/finally-the-optimist-s-impatience-with-or-condemnation-of-pessimism/) [David Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/) > [“I shall not assess arguments and evidence for competing views about when human extinction will occur. We know it will occur, and this fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/i-shall-not-assess-arguments-and-evidence-for-competing-views-about/) [David Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/) > [“Never to have been born is best But if we must see the light, the next best Is quickly returning whence we came. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/never-to-have-been-born-is-best-but-if-we-must-see-the-light-the-next/) [David Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/) [Explore all 32 David Benatar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Children's lives are always beginning and adults' lives are always ending. Or is it the opposite? Your childhood is always ending and your adult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-espach/children-s-lives-are-always-beginning-and-adults-lives-are-always/) [Alison Espach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-espach/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) [Browse all 62,396 Children quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“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.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Benatar" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/bringing-people-into-existence-as-well-as-failing-to-bring-people/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Children" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/bringing-people-into-existence-as-well-as-failing-to-bring-people/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/david-benatar-19400_children_bringing-people-into-existence-as-well-a_1278853.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/david-benatar-19400_children_bringing-people-into-existence-as-well-a_1278853.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/david-benatar-19400_children_bringing-people-into-existence-as-well-a_1278853.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Bringing people into existence as well as failing to bring people into existence can be regretted. However…” — David Benatar", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Benatar", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-benatar/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Bringing people into existence as well...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/bringing-people-into-existence-as-well-as-failing-to-bring-people/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-benatar/bringing-people-into-existence-as-well-as-failing-to-bring-people/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```