tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425732352511468694.post3962860068270592246..comments2023-08-20T04:55:39.436-07:00Comments on Ars Psychiatrica: On the Perpetuation of SpeciesNovalishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501890494890617030noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425732352511468694.post-65230711027546801432010-06-08T02:55:47.823-07:002010-06-08T02:55:47.823-07:00'If a child is likely to have a life full of p...'If a child is likely to have a life full of pain and suffering is that a reason against bringing the child into existence?'<br><br>Yes. I don't think any moral or religious justification can weigh in to counter this absolute affirmative and still claim to have anything to do with humanity. But what constitutes 'full of pain and suffering'? Is 60% pure suffering and 40% relative happiness/non-suffering a justifiable existence according to this logic?<br><br>'If a child is likely to have a happy, healthy life, is that a reason for bringing the child into existence?'<br><br>It's a good motivation, but not a sufficient reason (especially if it comes at the expense of someone else's health and happiness)-- It's like reasoning: 'Oh that wine made me so deliriously happy and presumably healthier (antioxidents) therefore I'm justified in drinking another glass'...ummm, not really!<br><br>Sentient beings just add ontological variation to the planet. They don't make the world 'better' as such. Just other shades of black really...that will eventually fade into non-existence. <br><br>Is a world with no philosophy better than one with? A world without philosophy cannot judge itself to be better; thus even if it is in itself better, it would never know it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425732352511468694.post-9985878364001604082010-06-08T06:26:25.149-07:002010-06-08T06:26:25.149-07:00When I was in college, I remember an acquaintance ...When I was in college, I remember an acquaintance of mine arguing for the use of abortion to prevent pain and misery in children. He said that if his wife were one day to be pregnant with a child with spina bifida, he would urge her to abort it to spare the child a lifetime of misery. Just then, a voice rose from behind him. A wheelchair-bound young college woman with spina bifida politely let him know that her life is a mixture of pain and pleasure and that the pleasure outweighs any pain and disability she experiences.<br><br>I tell this story only as a warning against philosophy that requires that we predict the future for others. Those we hope to spare from a dismal future may be more resourseful than us, more resilient than us, and may be able to find joy and happiness in areas we too easily overlook.<br><br>Thanks for this very thought-provoking post.The Alienisthttp://thealienist.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425732352511468694.post-65794282381559999262010-06-08T07:16:38.826-07:002010-06-08T07:16:38.826-07:00Yes, there is no celebration of consciousness or o...Yes, there is no celebration of consciousness or of Homo sapiens and its dubious works that is not logically circular. "Better never to have been..." Better for whom?<br><br>And yes, it's hard to imagine anything more personal or logically incontestable than one's "reason for living" or "meaning of life," clumsy terms that try but fail to capture the persistence of subjectivity. The choice to have children (or not), an extension of that subjectivity, is just about as personal.Novalishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10501890494890617030noreply@blogger.com