Wisdom And Philosophy

The relationship between the meaning of life and anti-natalism in David Benatar

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Mohammad Nikseresht

Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Persian Literature & Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22054/wph.2026.83982.2281
Abstract
This article provides a systematic and logical analysis of David Benatar’s anti-natalist perspective and its relation to the question of life’s meaning. The aim of the study is to examine the logical and ethical foundations of Benatar’s argument concerning the “badness of coming into existence” and to critique its implications for reproductive ethics and the meaning of life. The research method is descriptive–analytical, drawing on Benatar’s primary works and his critics to explore the logical structure of the “asymmetry between pleasure and pain” argument. Relying on an analytical and objectivist approach, Benatar considers life to be fundamentally devoid of positive value and views birth as a harmful event. The asymmetry between pleasure and pain, the low quality of human life, psychological optimism and self-deception, and the distinction between the value of beginning life and continuing it constitute the core elements of Benatar’s reasoning. Although Benatar’s logical argument for the asymmetry between pleasure and pain is formally valid, his improper transition from descriptive “is” statements to prescriptive “ought” statements undermines the final coherence of his logic. Despite its internal consistency, Benatar’s reasoning remains logically and ontologically insufficient and lacks realism.

Keywords

meaning of life
David Benatar
anti-natalism
reproduction
Subjects
Benatar, D. (1997). “Why it is better never to come into existence”. American Philosophical Quarterly, 34(3), 345-355. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20009904
Benatar, D. (1999). “The unbearable lightness of bringing into being”. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 16(2), 173-180. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5930.00119
Benatar, D. (2000). “The wrong of wrongful life”. American Philosophical Quarterly, 37(2), 175-183. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20009995
Benatar, D. (2006). Better never to have been: The harm of coming into existence. New York: Oxford University Press.
Benatar, D. (2013). "Still better never to have been: A reply to (more of) my critics". The Journal of Ethics, 17(1/2), 121-151. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10892-012-9133-7
Benatar, D. (2017). The human predicament: A candid guide to life's biggest questions. New            York: Oxford University Press.
Bradley, B. (2010). "Benatar and the logic of betterness". Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy, 4(2), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.26556/jesp.v4i2.133
Coates, K. (2014). Anti-natalism: Rejectionist philosophy from Buddhism to Benatar. Sarasota: First Edition Design Publishing.
Morioka, M. (2021). "What is antinatalism? Definition, history, and categories". The Review of Life Studies, 12, 1-39. https://doi.org/10.20556/0000064991
 
References [In Persian & In Arabic]
Benatar, D. (2021). The goal should be the extinction of humanity, but in a peaceful way. Translated by Mohammad Mollabasi. Tarjoman Quarterly of Humanities, 18, 35–42. [In Persian]
Brake, E., & Millum, J. (2025). Parenthood and reproduction. In E. N. Zalta & U. Nodelman (Eds.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2025 ed.). [In Persian]
Haack, S. (2016). Philosophy of logic. Translated by Seyed Mohammad Ali Hojjati. Qom: Taha Publications. [In Persian]
Wisdom And Philosophy
Volume 22, Issue 85
Winter 2026
Pages 283-309

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