The Philosophy Of Antinatalism | David Benatar | Escaped Sapiens #86
About this episode
In this episode, Shane Farnsworth interviews philosopher David Benatar about his views on antinatalism and the implications of human existence.
In this episode I speak with philosopher and author David Benatar. David is best known for advancing the position of philanthropic antinatalism, which holds that coming into existence is a serious harm for sentient beings. Central to his view is the asymmetry argument, which maintains that the absence of pain is good even if no one benefits from it, while the absence of pleasure is not bad unless someone is deprived of it. David also argues that our lives are significantly worse than we tend to realize, due in part to a pervasive positivity bias. He supports this claim with a range of empirical studies, including work on optimism bias, affective forecasting, and rosy retrospection. Relevant studies include: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3204264/ https://2024.sci-hub.se/1554/00562a7485ff9ae6371024daf5890ed0/mitchell1997.pdf https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1980-01001-001 https://www.happierlivesinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Affective-forecasting.pdf At the same time, David’s antinatalist position is challenged by other philosophers, as well as by research showing that global well-being has been improving across many important metrics. Numerous studies also…
More episodes of The Escaped Sapiens Podcast
- What Killed the Dire Wolf… And Could We Bring It Back? | Julie Meachen | Escaped Sapiens #92
- Why Powerful Countries Keep Losing Wars | Phillips O’Brien | Escaped Sapiens #91
- Can Aging Be Hacked? | Matt Kaeberlein | Escaped Sapiens #90
- Reviving Ancient Greece Through Its Lost Texts | Richard Janko | Escaped Sapiens #89
- How Anesthetics Affect The Brain | Anthony Kaveh | Escaped Sapiens #88
- A Path To Quantum Gravity | Sabrina Pasterski | Escaped Sapiens #87
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Escaped Sapiens Podcast podcast page.