Review: Better never to have been: The harm of coming into existence by David Benatar

 This book was on my to-read-list for a long time.

Especially since there is not much literature on the topic of antinatalism.

The subject is nothing less, than the argument, that existence is bad and phased extinction might be the best thing that could happen to mankind.

First off, this book is written by a professor of philosophy, so it is by no means a book coming from an edgy teenager in his worst phase of becoming an adult.

It is a very serious book that lays down why existence is a harm.

Although it is written for a non academic readership it probably will appeal for such an audience as well.

While most of his arguments are rather easy to understand and the arguments given are very intuitive, some arguments will take the reader some time to get the idea.

Make no mistake, to fully grasp the book and its content it is probably needed to revisit some chapters from time to time again.

The occasional jokes and puns in this book certainly help to keep the spirits up, as the views presented are rather depressing.

Not only does Professor Benatar argue, it is better not to have been but also tackles the notion that our lives are good. From his view, our lives are indeed very bad, everything else might more or less be delusion. This does not only apply to human life but to animal life or general existence as a whole.

Furthermore the author also touches on the issue of abortion, which is still a very iffy topic in most countries and in that regard, this book certaintly provides substantial arguments for the pro-choice camp. Something absolutely necessary in times, where secular positions try to undermine basic human rights.

Albeit, that many would find Benatar's views very dark with all their connotations.

Reading his book feels very alien, after all, who in the world argues for the extinction of all (sentient) life?

Surprisingly it is really hard to put up good counter arguments.

As the general notion of this book might be bleak, dark and absurd, it also manages to let some light shine through, as it also implies to reduce the overall suffering on this planet and make the best out of our existence for example by the means of adoption.

Putting people into an existential crisis has never been easier than with this book. That is for certain.

If one is interested in creating sleepless nights, existential nightmares and such this is the way to go.

Besides the author's conclusions, there are a few arguments, which leave quite some room for criticism. Albeit only sometimes the case, the less convincing points harm some conclusions.

While I am still not sure what to think about the views presented, I was definitely able to get something out of them.

One take-away for me was the acknowledgement, that not creating life in the first place is at least no harm.

Also the book is a real eye opener in regards to our very pronatalist society and how this might be a very bad stance indeed.

But most importantly it makes one realize how important acts of kindness and philanthropy are, in a world full of suffering.

To me it highlighted how crucial it is to reduce the misery in a world we had been born into without our consent.

Rating: 4,5 / 5