Schopenhauer

South Debate
Mr. Schopenhauer
Lab Cole Johnson Jensen
Schopenhauer Kritik
Schopenhauer Kritik...............................................................................................................................................................................
1NC Shell................................................................................................................................................................................................
1NC Shell.................................................................................................................................................................................................
1NC Shell................................................................................................................................................................................................
2NC Overview.........................................................................................................................................................................................
A/2 Perm.................................................................................................................................................................................................
A/2 Death Bad........................................................................................................................................................................................
Alt Solvenc............................................................................................................................................................................................
!i"e Suck#$............................................................................................................................................................................................
A/2 Actual %vidence that li"e doe#n&t #uck.............................................................................................................................................
A/2 O'li(ation to "uture (eneration#....................................................................................................................................................
A/2 )alue to !i"e...................................................................................................................................................................................
*uture +arm# !ink................................................................................................................................................................................
A/2 %ducation i# ,ood..........................................................................................................................................................................
!on( !ink/-mpact %.ten#ion.................................................................................................................................................................
A/2 /%thical o'li(ation to re0ect the K1.................................................................................................................................................
Dolan i# a ,..........................................................................................................................................................................................
A/2 /- like to 'e alive21.........................................................................................................................................................................
A/2 /- like to 'e alive21.........................................................................................................................................................................
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1C Shell
!bser"ation 1 is the Link#
$%tinction is ine"itable& gi"ing the 1'C no i(pact& an) the le"el of su*ering in
this +orl) )e(an)s nothing less than e%tinction. $%tinction is a goo) thing. ,t
+oul) be better if +e +ere )ea) than to ha"e to su*er through life. -he
a.r(ati"e onl/ prolongs our su*ering b/ atte(pting to pre"ent our ine"itable
)e(ise.
Benatar, David. 2306 44A##ociate Pro"e##or o" Philo#oph at 5niver#it o" Cape 6own7 Better Never 6o +ave
Been. P( 189:18;7 ;/18/13 K. +arri#
< ar(ument# in this chapter and previous ones impl that it would be better if humans (and other
species) became extinct. All things being equal, my arguments also suggest that it would be better if this occurred
sooner rather than later. These conclusions are deeply unsettling to many people. shall now assess that common
response in order to determine whether the prospect of human e!tinction really is to be regretted, and whether it really
would be better for it to occur sooner rather than later. The human species, like every other species, will
eventually become extinct ."# $any people are disturbed by this prospect and ta%e comfort only in the hope that it
may still be a very long time until this occurs."& 'thers are not so sure that our species has a long future. n every
generation there are the few who believe that (the end is nigh). 'ften these views are the product of uninformed, often
religiously inspired, eschatology, if not of mental disorder. Sometimes, however, they are not."* There are those who
believe that not only external threats, such as asteroid impact, but also current human practices,
including non+sustainable consumption, environmental damage, new and recrudescent diseases, and nuclear or
biological weapons, pose a serious threat to the longterm future of humanity. *or other#= the
ar(ument "or more imminent e.tinction i# not empirical 'ut philo#ophical. >ea#onin( pro'a'ili#ticall= the
ar(ue that we are de#tined to ?doom #oon&."" - #hall not a##e## ar(ument# and evidence "or competin(
view# a'out when human e.tinction will occur. !e know it will occur, and this fact has a curious effect on
my argument" #n a strange way it makes my argument an optimistic one" $lthough things are now
not the way they should be,there are people when there should be none,things will someday be the way
they should be%there will be no people. n other words, although things are now bad, they will be better, even if
they first get worse with the creation of new people. Some may wish to be spared this %ind of optimism, but some optimists
may ta%e a measure of comfort in this observation.
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1NC Shell
'bservation - is the implications.
-he Desire to life is chil)ish an) lea)s to (uch har)ship. -he in)i"i)ual that
has been conce)e) b/ such i)eals +ill un)oubte)l/ cause +i)esprea) "iolence
an) threaten not onl/ their e%istence but others. !nl/ in relin1uishing this +ill
to li"e +ill +e be able to sol"e such proble(s.
&chopenhauer= Arthur. '('0. 44,erman Philo#opher@ Pro"e##or at the 5niver#it o" ,otten(an(7 Studie# in
Pe##imi#m PD*7 9/22/13 K+
6hink what ouAre doin(2 Bhen ou #a - want to e.i#t= it i# not ou alone that #a# thi#. %verthin( #a# it=
a'#olutel everthin( that ha# the "ainte#t trace o" con#ciou#ne##. -t "ollow#= then= that thi# desire o" our#
is )ust the part o" ou that i# Cnot individualC the part that is common to all things without distinction"
#t is the cry= not o" the individual= 'ut of existence itself@ it i# the intrin#ic element in everthin( that
e.i#t#= na= it i# the cau#e o" anthin( e.i#tin( at all. This desire craves for, and so is satisfied with,
nothing less than existence in general::not an deDnite individual e.i#tence. No2 that i# not it# aim. -t
#eem# to 'e #o onl 'ecau#e thi# de#ire this !ill attains consciousness only in the individual, and
therefore looks as though it were concerned with nothing but the individual" There lies the
illusion::an illu#ion= it i# true= in which the individual i# held "a#tE 'ut= i" he reFect#= he can 'reak the "etter#
and #et him#el" "ree. -t i# onl indirectl= - #a= that the individual has this violent craving for
existence. -t i# the Bill to !ive which i# the real and direct a#pirant::alike and identical in all thin(#. Since=
then= e.i#tence i# the "ree work= na= the mere reFection o" the will= where e.i#tence i#= there= too= mu#t 'e
will@ and "or the moment the will Dnd# it# #ati#"action in e.i#tence it#el"@ #o "ar= - mean= a# that which never
re#t#= 'ut pre##e# "orward eternall= can ever Dnd an #ati#"action at all. 6he will i# carele## o" the individualE
the individual i# not it# 'u#ine##@ althou(h= a# - have #aid= thi# #eem# to 'e the ca#e= 'ecau#e the individual
ha# no direct con#ciou#ne## o" will e.cept in him#el". 6he eGect o" thi# i# to make the individual care"ul to
maintain hi# own e.i#tence@ and i" thi# were not #o= there would 'e no #uret "or the pre#ervation o" the
#pecie#. *rom all thi# it i# clear that individualit i# not a "orm o" per"ection= 'ut rather o" limitation@ and #o to
'e "reed "rom it i# not lo## 'ut (ain. 6rou'le our#el" no more a'out the matter. *nce thoroughly
recogni+e what you are, what your existence really is, namely, the universal will to live, and the
whole ,uestion will seem to you childish, and most ridiculous-
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1C Shell
!bser"ation -hree is the 'lternati"e#
'lt -e%t# ,gnore the a.r(ati"e4s plan an) allo+ e%tinction to happen.
Sub(erge /ourself in the bliss of )eath an) let go of the su*ering life brings.
5e shoul) begin pursuing e%tinction no+. -his re1uires either a su))en
e%tinction le"el catastrophe or a stea)/ )ecline in hu(an population 6 b/
tr/ing to sol"e for these things& the a* pre"ents the( fro( happening&
continuing the c/cle of su*ering inherent in life.
Benatar= David. 2306 44A##ociate Pro"e##or o" Philo#oph at 5niver#it o" Cape 6own7 Better Never 6o +ave
Been. P( 1H97 ;/18/13 K. +arri#
Bringing people into existence always inflicts serious harm on those people. /owever, in some
situations failing to bring people into e!istence can ma%e the lives of e!istent people a lot worse than they would otherwise have been. That is cause for
concern. /owever, we need to avoid a protracted regress in which more and more harm is done by the addition of successive new generations in order to
prevent e!tra harm to e!isting people. Thus, the creation of new generations could only possibly be
acceptable= on my view, if it were aimed at phasing out people" .nless humanity ends suddenly, the
final people whether they e!ist sooner or later, will li%ely suffer much"*0 There is some sense in making
sure that fewer people suffer this fate" This can be done by steadily reducing the number of
people. am under no illusions. $lthough humans may voluntarily seek to reduce their number, they
will never, under current circumstances, do so with the intention of moving towards extinction"
Thus& in considering the question of phased e!tinction from a large population base, # am not discussing what will
ever happen but only what should happen or what it would be best to have happen. 1ut another way, am
discussing the theoretical implications and applications of my views.
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2C !"er"ie+
$%tinction is ine"itable. ,n the (eanti(e& our li"es suck. -he/ suck har). -he
i)ea that +e shoul) atte(pt to sol"e this e%tinction has t+o proble(s.
8irst& life sucks. ,t +oul) be better to be )ea) than ali"e.
&chopenaur in 180/ 4Arthur Iphilo#opherJ THE ESSAYS OF ATHUR SCHOPENHAUR; STUDIES IN PESSIMISM=
httpE//www.(uten'er(.or(/Dle#/13KL2/13KL2:H.t.t 4ACC%SS%%D H/1/3;7
#n early youth, as we contemplate our coming life, we are like children in a theater before the
curtain is raised, sitting there in high spirits and eagerly waiting for the play to begin" #t is a
blessing that we do not know what is really going to happen" Could we "ore#ee it= there are
time# when children mi(ht seem like innocent prisoners, condemned, not to death, but to life=
and a# et all uncon#ciou# o" what their #entence mean#. Neverthele##= ever man
de#ire# to reach old a(e@ in other word#= a #tate o" li"e in which it ma 'e #aidE /-t i#
'ad to:da= and it will 'e wor#e to:morrow@ and #o on until the wor#t da o" all.1
#f you try to imagine, as nearly as you can, what amount of misery, pain and suffering of every
kind the sun shines upon its course, you will admit that it would be much better if, on the earth
as little as on the moon, the sun were able to call forth the phenomena of life@ and i"= here a#
there= the #ur"ace were in a cr#talline #tate. A(ain= ou ma look upon li"e a# an
unproDta'le epi#ode= di#tur'in( the 'le##ed calm o" non:e.i#tence. $nd, in any case,
even though things have gone with you tolerably well, the longer you live the more clearly you
will feel that, on the whole, life is0a disappointment= na= a cheat.
Secon)l/& the rabi) cra"e for e%istence in the 1'C onl/ furthers "iolence
because +e are al+a/s tr/ing to kill others for the sake of oursel"es& that is
the Schopenhauer in 1819 e"i)ence.
-he alternati"e is to accept the i(pacts of the 1'C. Life sucks. -he 1uestion to
be aske) here is& :5h/ not;<.
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'>2 Per(
1. !?@ 1C $A,D$C$ ,D,C'-$S -B'- -B$ @!!- C'?S$ !8 L,8$4S M,S$@C ,S
-B$ C!S-'- C@'A,D 8!@ $E,S-$C$. -B$ P$@M S-,LL @$-',S -B$
'C-,! !8 -B$ PL' -B$@$8!@$ 8?@-B$@,D -B$ C@'A,D.

2. -@C,D -! 'A!,D S! C'LL$D ?'-?@'L D$'-B C@$'-$S M!@$ S?88$@,D
-B'- ,- C' 'LL$A,'-$ 'D C@$'-$S S?CB S-@$SS 'D A,!L$C$ -B'- ,-
8',LS , -B$ $D
&chopenaur in 180/ 4Arthur Iphilo#opherJ THE ESSAYS OF ATHUR SCHOPENHAUR; STUDIES IN PESSIMISM=
#t is= however, a wonderful thing that the mere addition of thought should serve to raise such a
vast and lofty structure of human happiness and misery1 resting, too= on the same narrow basis
of )oy and sorrow as man holds in common with the brute, and exposing him to such violent
emotions, to so many storms of passion, so much convulsion of feeling, that what he has
suffered stands written and may be read on the lines on his face" $nd yet, when all is told, he has
been struggling ultimately for the very same thing as the brute he attained, and with an
incomparably smaller expenditure of passion and pain"
But all this contributes to increase the measures of suffering in human life out of all proportion
to its pleasures1 and the pains of life are made much worse for man by the fact that death is
something very real to him" The brute flies from death instinctively without really knowing what it
is, and therefore without ever contemplating it in the way natural to man= who ha# thi#
pro#pect alwa# 'e"ore hi# ee#. So that even i" onl a "ew 'rute# die a natural death=
and mo#t o" them live onl 0u#t lon( enou(h to tran#mit their #pecie#= and then= i" not
earlier= 'ecome the pre o" #ome other animal=:: whil#t man= on the other hand=
mana(e# to make #o:called natural death the rule= to which however= there are a (ood
man e.pectation#=::the advanta(e i# on the #ide o" the 'rute= "or the rea#on #tated
a'ove. But the "act i# that man attains the natural term of years )ust as seldom as the brute1
because the unnatural way in which he lives, and the strain of work and emotion, lead to a
degeneration of the race1 and so goal is not often reached"
3. -B$ P$@M S$A$@S 199F !8 -B$,@ 'DA'-'D$S& 5B,CB P?-S -B$M , '
D!?GL$ G,D. $,-B$@ -B$ P$@M S$A$@S& !@ -B$ '88 S!LA$S J'CK SH?'-.
'D& S$A$@'C$ P$@MS '@$ G'D#
'. M'K$S -B$ '88 ' M!A,D -'@D$-& 5$ B'A$ ! ,D$' 5B'- -B$C 5,LL
'DA!C'-$ , -B$ 2'@.
G. P@!A$S -B'- -B$ PL' 5'S ' G'D ,D$' , -B$ 8,@S- PL'C$.
C. K,LLS $D?C'-,! G$C'?S$ 'LL -B$C B'A$ -! D! ,S SB!?- !?- -B@$$
5!@DS 'D 5, ' D$G'-$ @!?D.
D. D@!P -B$ -$'M 'D -B$ '@D?M$-.
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'>2 Death Ga)
D$'-B ,S -B$ !LC D,8- D,A$ -! ?S GC L,8$
&chopenaur in '20/ 4Arthur Iphilo#opherJ THE ESSAYS OF ATHUR SCHOPENHAUR; STUDIES IN PESSIMISM=
6he ancient#= moreover= were ver "ar "rom re(ardin( the in matter in that li(ht. Plin #a#EC!i"e i# not #o
de#ira'le a thin( a# to 'e protracted at an co#t. !hoever you are, you are sure to die, even though
your life has been full of abomination and crime" The chief of all remedies for a troubled mind is
the feeling that among the blessings which 3ature gives to man, there is none greater than
opportune death1 and the best of it is that every one can avail himself to it"
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'lt Sol"enc/
!LC GC @$L,H?,SB,D -B$ 5,LL -! L,A$ 'D -?@,D !?@ !?@ G'CK !
-B$ 5!@LD C' 5$ B!P$ -! P?@S?$ J?S-,C$ 'D L!A$
The contrast which the 3ew Testament presents when compared with the *ld= accordin( to the
eccle#ia#tical view o" the matter= i# )ust that existing between my ethical and the moral
philosophy of 4urope. 6he Old 6e#tament repre#ent# man a# under the dominion o" !aw=
in which= however= there i# no redemption. The 3ew Testament declare# !aw to have
"ailed= "ree# man "rom it# dominion=I1J and in it# #tead preaches the kingdom of grace, to
be won by faith, love of neighbor and entire #acriDce o" #el". This is the path of redemption
from the evil of the world" The spirit of the 3ew Testament is undoubtedly asceticism= however
our prote#tant# and rationali#t# ma twi#t it to #uit their purpo#e. $sceticism is the
denial of the will to live@ and the tran#lation "rom the Old 6e#tament to the New= "rom the
dominion o" !aw to that o" *aith= "rom 0u#tiDcation ' work# to redemption throu(h the
<ediator= "rom the domain o" #in and death to eternal li"e in Chri#t= mean#= when taken
in it# real #en#e= the tran#ition "rom the merel moral value# to the denial o" the will to
live. 5y philosophy shows the metaph#ical "oundation o" )ustice and love of mankind, and
points to the goal to which these virtues nece##aril lead= i" the are practiced in
per"ection. At the #ame time it i# candid in con"e##in( that a man mu#t turn hi# 'ack
upon the world= and that the denial of the will to live is the way of redemption. -t i# there"ore
reall at one with the #pirit o" the New 6e#tament= whil#t all other ##tem# are couched
in the #pirit o" the Old@ that i# to #a= theoreticall a# well a# practicall= their re#ult i#
Mudai#m::more de#potic thei#m. -n thi# #en#e= then= m doctrine mi(ht 'e called the
onl true Chri#tian philo#oph::however parado.ical a #tatement thi# ma #eem to
people who take #uperDcial view# in#tead o" penetratin( to the heart o" the matter.
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Life SucksI
-B$@$ ,S ! P?@P!S$ , L,8$ ?L$SS ,- ,S S?88$@,D. 'L-B!?DB $'CB $5
M,S8!@-?$ S$$MS ?,H?$ -! ?S& M,S8!@-?$ ,S -B$ @?L$& !- -B$
$EC$P-,!
.nless0suffering0is the direct and immediate ob)ect of life= our existence must entirely fail of its
aim" #t is absurd to look upon the enormou# amount o" pain that abounds everwhere in the
world, and originates in needs and nece##itie# inseparable from life it#el"= as serving no
purpose at all and the result of mere chance. 4ach #eparate misfortune= a# it come#=
seems= no dou't= to be something exceptional1 but misfortune in general is the rule"
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'>2 'ctual $"i)ence that life )oesn4t suck
J?S-,8,C'-,!S !8 L,8$ 'S A'L?'GL$ '@$ 'LL L,$S D$S,D$D GC M,SL$D
,D,!-S
# shall be told, - #uppo#e= that my philosophy is comfortlessbecause # speak the truth1 and
people prefer to be assured that everything the 6ord has made is good. ,o to the prie#t#= then=
and leave philo#opher# in peace2 At an rate= do not a#k u# to accommodate our doctrine# to
the le##on# ou have 'een tau(ht. That is what those rascals of sham philosophers will do for
you" $sk them for any doctrine you please, and you will get it" 7our .niversity professors are
bound to preach optimism1 and it is an easy and agreeable task to upset their theories"
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'>2 !bligation to future generations
-B$ P'SS'D$ !8 D$$@'-,!S ,S L,K$ 5'-CB,D -B$ S'M$ M'D,C -@,CK
!A$@ 'D !A$@& 'D',& ,- @$A$'LS -B$ D$C$P-,! !8 L,8$.
8e who lives to see two or three generations is like a man who sits some time in a con)urer9s
booth at a fair, and witnesses the performance twice or thrice in succession" The tricks were
meant to be seen only once1 and when they are no longer a novelty and cease to deceive, their
effect is gone"
5$ SB!?LD SP'@$ 8?-?@$ D$$@'-,!S -B$ G?@D$ !8 $E,S-$C$
#f children were brought in to the world by an act of pure reason alone, would the human race
continue to exist: !ould not a man rather have so much sympathy with the coming generation
as to spare it the burden of existence: *r at any rate not take it upon himself to impose that
burden upon it in cold blood"
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'>2 Aalue to Life
'LL 8!@MS !8 B?M' B'PP,$SS SP@,D 8@!M M'-$@,'L $$DS& C$-
,-$LL$C- ,-$@-5,$S -B$M 5,-B $M!-,! S! -B'- 8!@ 'LL -B$
PL$'S?@$ 5$ D', 8@!M !?@ M$-'L 8'C?L-C 5$ D', M?CB M!@$ P',
8owever varied the forms that human happiness and misery may take= leadin( a man to #eek
the one and #hun the other= the material basis of it all is bodily pleasure or bodily pain" This
basis is very restricted; it is simply health, food, protection from the wet and cold, the
satisfaction of the sexual instinct1 or el#e the absence of these things" <onse,uently a# real
ph#ical plea#ure i# concerned= the man is not better off than the brute, except in so far as
the higher possibilities of his nervous system make him more sensitive to every kind of
pleasure, but also, it must be remembered, to every kind of pain" But then compared with the
'rute= how much stronger are the passions aroused in him- !hat an immeasurable difference
there is in the depth and vehemence of his emotions-$nd yet= in one ca#e= a# in the other=
all to produce the same result in the endE namel= health, food, clothing, and so on"
'LL '--$MP-S '- CB'D$S '@$ 8!LLC& -B$C CS' $A$@ D@'- ?S
B'PP,$SS , -B$ 8L$$-,D M!M$-S !8 $E,S-$C$ ,-S$L8 -! SL,P P'S- ?S
5B,L$ 5$ B?@@C ,-! -B$ '@MS !8 D$'-B
The scenes of our life are like pictures done in rough mosaic. !ooked at clo#e= the produce
no eGect. There is nothing beautiful to be found in them, unless you stand some distance off"
&o, to gain anything we have longed for is only to discover how vain and empty it is1 and even
though we are always living in expectations of better things, at the same time we often repent
and long to have the past back again" !e look upon the present as something to be put up with
while it lasts, and serving only as the way towards our goal" 8ence most people, if they glance
back when they come to the end of life= will Dnd that all alon( the have 'een livin(Cad
interimCE they will be surprised to find that the very thing that they disregarded and let slip be
unen)oyed, was )ust the life in the expectations of which they passed all their time" *f how many
a man may it not be said that hope made a fool of him until he danced into the arms of death"
-B$@$ ,S C!S-'- P', 'D M,S$@C , -B$ 5!@LD D?$ -! S!M$ S, -B'-
5$ '@$ C!S-'-LC P'C,D 8!@ G?- C' $A$@ S!LA$
There is nothing more certain than the (eneral truth that it is the (rievou#Csin of the world0
which has produced more grievous0suffering of the worldC. - am not re"errin( here to the
ph#ical connection 'etween the#e two thin(# lin( in the realm o" e.perience@ m
meanin( i# metaph#ical. Accordin(l= the #ole thin( that reconcile# me to the Old
6e#tament i# the #tor o" the *all. in m ee#= it i# the onl metaph#ical truth in that
'ook= even thou(h it appear# in the "orm o" an alle(or. There seems to me no better
explanation of our existence than that it is the result of some false step, some sin of which we
are paying the penalty. - cannot re"rain "rom recommendin( the thou(ht"ul reader a
popular= 'ut at the #ame time= pro"ound trea#ti#e on thi# #u'0ect ' Claudiu#I1J which
e.hi'it# the e##entiall pe##imi#tic #pirit o" Chri#tianit. -t i# entitledECCur#ed i# the
(round "or th #akeC.
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8uture Bar(s Link
!?@ 'G,L,-C 'D ,S,S-$C$ , P@!J$C-,D -B$ 8?-?@$ ,S -B$ @!!- !8
M?CB !8 !?@ ?B'PP,$SS. 5$ SB!?LD 'CC$P- 5B'- ,S 5,-B
-@'H?,L,-C. -B,S 5,LL M?L-,PLC -B$ PL$'S?@$ 5$ D', 8@!M 'C-B,D
P!S,-,A$ -B'- B'PP$S , -B$ 8?-?@$ 5B,L$ 'A!,D,D -B$ D$SP',@ -B'-
,$A,-'GL$C 8!LL!5S 5B$ -B$ 8?-?@$ C'!- M$$- !?@ '-,C,P'-,!S
The brute is much more content with mere existence than man@ the plant i# wholl #o@ and man
#ati#"action in it 0u#t in proportion a# ha i# dull and o'tu#e. Accordin(l= the li"e o" the 'rute carrie# le## o"
#orrow with it= 'ut al#o le# 0o= when compared with the li"e o" man@ and while thi# ma 'e traced= on the on
#ide= to "reedom "rom the torment o" care and an.iet= it is al#o due to the fact that hope= in an real
#en#e= is unknown to the brute" #t is thus deprived of any share in that which gives us the most
and best of our )oys and pleasures, the mental anticipation of a happy future, and the inspiring
play of fantasy= 'oth o" which we owe to our power o" ima(ination. -" the 'rute i# "ree "rom care= it i# al#o=
in thi# #en#e= without hope@ in either ca#e= 'ecau#e it# con#ciou#ne## i# limited to the pre#ent moment= to
what it can actuall #ee 'e"ore it. 6he 'rute i# an em'odiment o" pre#ent impul#e#= and hence what
element# o" "ear and hope e.i#t in nature::and the do not (o ver "ar::ari#e onl in relation to o'0ect# that
lie 'e"ore it and within reach o" tho#e impul#e#E wherea# a man9s range of vision embraces the whole
of his life, and extends far into the past and future"
=ollowing upon this, there is one respect in which brutes show real wisdom when compared with
us::- mean= their ,uiet, placid en)oyment of the present moment" The tran,uility of mind which
this seems to give them often puts us to shame for the many times we allow our thoughts and
our cares to make us restless and discontented. And= in fact, those pleasures of hope and
anticipation which - have 'een mentionin( are not to be bad for nothing" The delight which a man
has in hoping for and looking forward to some special satisfaction is a part of the real pleasure
attaching to it en)oyed in advance" This is afterwards deducted1 for the more we look forward to
anything, the less satisfaction we find in it when it comes" But the brute9s en)oyment is not
anticipated, and therefore, suffers no deduction1 so that the actual pleasure of the moment
comes to it whole and unimpaired. -n the #ame wa= too= evil pre##e# upon the 'rute onl with it# own
intrin#ic wei(ht@ wherea# with u# the "ear o" it# comin( o"ten make# it# 'urden ten time# more (rievou#.
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'>2 $)ucation is Doo)
-B$ D',S 5$ M'K$ 8@!M ,-$LL$C- '@$ M$@$ -@,8L$S -B'- C'!-
C!MP'@$ -! -B$ S?88$@,D -B'- !?@ ,$LL$C-?'L C'P'G,L,-C ,MP!S$S
?P! ?S
And a'ove and 'eond all thi#= there is a separate and peculiar source of plea#ure= and
con#eNuentl= pain, which man has established "or him#el"= al#o as the result of using his
powers of reflection@ and this occupies him out of all proportion to its value= na= almo#t more
than all hi# other intere#t# put to(ether::# mean am'ition and the "eelin( o" honor and
#hame@ in plain word#= what he thinks about the opinion other people have of him" Taking a
thousand forms= o"ten ver #tran(e one#= this becomes the goal of almost all the efforts he
makes that are not rooted in physical pleasure or pain. -t i# true that besides the sources of
pleasure which he has in common with the brute, man has the pleasures of the mind as well"
These admit of many gradations, from the mo#t innocent triFin( or the merest talk up to the
highest intellectual achievements1 but there is the accompanying boredom to be set against
them on the side of suffering" Boredom is a form of suffering unknown to the brutes= at an
rate in their natural #tate@ it i# onl the ver clevere#t o" them who #how "ain trace# o"
it when the are dome#ticated@ whereas in the case of man it has become a downright
scourge. 6he crowd o" mi#era'le wretche# who#e one aim in li"e i# to Dll their pur#e#
'ut to never put anthin( into their head#= oGer# a #in(ular in#tance o" thi# torment o"
'oredom. 6heir wealth 'ecome# a puni#hment ' deliverin( them up to mi#er o"
havin( nothin( to do@ "or= to e#cape it= the will ru#h a'out in all direction#= travelin(
here= there= and everwhere. No #ooner do the arrive in a place than the are an.iou#
to know what amu#ement# it aGord#@ 0u#t a# thou(h the were 'e((ar# a#kin( where
the could receive a dole2 *f a truth, need and boredom are two poles of human life. *inall= -
ma mention that a# re(ard# the #e.ual relation= a man i# committed to a peculiar
arran(ement which drive# him o'#tinatel to choo#e one per#on. 6hi# "eelin( (row#=
now and then= into a more or le## pa##ionate love=I1J which i# the #ource o" little
plea#ure and much #uGerin(.
Page 23 of 38
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Mr. Schopenhauer
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Mr. Schopenhauer
Long Link>,(pact $%tension
-B$ C!MM! 'SS?MP-,! ,S -B'- G@,D,D P$!PL$ ,-! $E,S-$C$ ,S -B$
@,DB- -B,D -! D!. -B,S ,S 8'LS$.
Benatar= David. >006 44A##ociate Pro"e##or o" Philo#oph at 5niver#it o" Cape 6own7 Better Never 6o +ave
Been. P( 1;O:1;H7 ;/18/13 K. +arri#
There is a common assumption in the literature about future possible people that, all things being equal, one
does no wrong by bringing into existence people whose lives will be good on balance" This
assumption rests on another,namely that being brought into existence 2with decent life prospects3 is a
benefit 2even though not being brought into e!istence is not a harm3. shall argue that the underlying assumption is
erroneous. Being brought into existence is not a benefit but always a harm. 4hen say that coming into
e!istence is always a harm, do not mean that it is necessarily a harm. As will become apparent= my argument does
not apply to those hypothetical cases in which a life contains only good and no bad" $bout such
an existence # say that it is neither a harm nor a benefit and we should be indifferent between
such an existence and never existing" But no lives are like this" $ll lives contain some bad"
<oming into existence with such a life is always a harm. $any people will find this deeply unsettling claim to
be counter+intuitive and will wish to dismiss it. 5or this reason,
propose not only to defend the claim, but also to suggest why people might be resistant to it. As a matter of fact, bad things
happen to all of us. 3o life is without hardship" #t is easy to think of the millions who live a life of
poverty or of those who live much of their lives with some disability. Some of us are luc%y enough to be spared these
fates, but most of us who are, nonetheless suffer ill+health at some stage during our lives. *ften the suffering is
excruciating= even if it is in our final days. Some are condemned by nature to years of frailty. 4e all face death.#6 4e
infrequently contemplate the harms that await any new+born child,pain, disappointment, an!iety, grief, and death. 5or any
given child we cannot predict what form these harms will ta%e or how severe they will be, but we can be sure that at least
some of them will occur.#0 3one of this befalls the nonexistent" *nly existers suffer harm"*ptimists
will be ,uick to note that # have not told the whole story" 3ot only bad things but also good
things happen only to those who exist. 1leasure, 7oy, and satisfaction can only be had by e!isters. Thus, the
cheerful will say, we must weigh up the pleasures of life against the evils. As long as the former outweigh the latter, the life is
worth living. <oming into being with such a life is, on this view, a benefit. The asymmetry of pleasure and
pain /owever, this conclusion does not follow. This is because there is a crucial difference between harms 2such
as pains3 and benefits 2such as pleasures3 which entails that e!istence has no advantage over, but does have
disadvantages relative to, non+e!istence.## Consider pains and pleasures as e!emplars of harms and benefits. t is
uncontroversial to say that 213 the presence of pain is bad, and that 2-3 the presence of pleasure is good. /owever, such a
symmetrical evaluation does not seem to apply to the absence of pain and pleasure, for it stri%es me as true that 283 the
absence of pain is good, even if that good is not en)oyed by anyone, whereas 2*) the absence of
pleasure is not bad unless there is somebody for whom this absence is a deprivation . Now it might
be as%ed how the absence of pain could be good if that good is not en7oyed by anybody. Absent pain, it might be said,
cannot be good for anybody, if nobody e!ists for whom it can be good. This, however, is to dismiss 283 too quic%ly. The
7udgement made in 283 ismade with reference to the 2potential3 interests of a person who either does or does not e!ist. To
this it might be ob7ected that because 283 is part of the scenario under which this person never e!ists, 283 cannot say
anything about an e!isting person. This ob7ection would be mista%en because 283 can say something about a counterfactual
case in which a person who does actually e!ist never did e!ist. 'f the pain of an e!isting person, 283 says that the absence
of this pain would have been good even if this could only have been achieved by the absence of the person who now
suffers it. n other words, 7udged in terms of the interests of a person who now e!ists, the absence of the pain would have
been good even though this person would then not have e!isted. <onsider ne!t what 283 says of the absent pain of
one who never exists,of pain, the absence of which is ensured by not ma%ing a potential person actual. Claim 283
says that this absence is good when 7udged in terms of the interests of the person who would otherwise have e!isted. !e
may not know who that person would have been, but we can still say that whoever that person
would have been, the avoidance of his or her pains is good when )udged in terms of his or her
potential interests. f there is any 2obviously loose3 sense in which the absent pain is good for the person who could
have e!isted but does not e!ist, this is it. Clearly 283 does not entail the absurd literal claim that there is some actual person
for whom the absent pain is good.#& n support of the asymmetry between 283 and 2*3, it can be shown that it has
considerable e!planatory power. t e!plains at least four other asymmetries that are quite plausible. Sceptics, when they see
where this leads, may begin to question the plausibility of these other asymmetries and may want to %now what support
2beyond the asymmetry above3 can be provided for them. 4ere to provide such support, the sceptics would then as% for a
defence of these further supporting considerations. 9very argument must have some 7ustificatory end. cannot hope to
convince those who ta%e the re7ection of my conclusion as a!iomatic. All can show is that those who accept some quite
plausible views are led to my conclusion. These plausible views include four other symmetries, which shall now outline.
=irst, the asymmetry between (?) and (/) is the best explanation for the view that while there i# a dut to avoid 'rin(in( #uGerin(
people into e.i#tence= there i# no dut to 'rin( happ people into 'ein(. -n other word#= the rea#on wh we
think that there i# a dut not to 'rin( #uGerin( people into e.i#tence i# that the pre#ence o" thi# #uGerin(
would 'e 'ad (for the sufferers7 and the a'#ence o" the #uGerin( i# (ood (even though there is nobody to en)oy the absence of
suffering). -n contra#t to thi#= we think that there i# no dut to 'rin( happ people into e.i#tence 'ecau#e while
Page 28 of 38
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Mr. Schopenhauer
their plea#ure would 'e (ood "or them= it# a'#ence would not 'e 'ad "or them 2given that there would be nobody who
would be deprived of it3.
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Mr. Schopenhauer
'>2 :$thical obligation to reJect the K<
1. -here is an intrinsic right to not su*er in this +orl) 6 an) thus& there is an
intrinsic right to not e%ist in this +orl). $"er/ birth is a breach of this right to
none%istence 6 +e ha"e an obligation not to allo+ life in this +orl) of su*ering.
Genatar= David. 2393 44A##ociate Pro"e##or o" Philo#oph at 5niver#it o" Cape 6own7 Better Never 6o +ave Been. P( 183:
1817 ;/18/13 K. +arri#
4hether or not this is the case, there are some views that can take account of the concerns about how
harms are distributed and brought about" =or example, a rights or deontological view may say that
some harms are so bad that they may not be inflicted even if failing to inflict them causes greater
harm to others. 'n such a view, for e!ample, it would be wrong to remove somebody)s healthy %idney involuntarily even
though the harm to a potential recipient of not doing the transplant would be greater than the harm to the involuntary donor
of doing it. This is because either the donor has a right not to have his %idney involuntarily removed, or others have a duty
not to remove it involuntarily. #f there is a right not to be brought into existence%a right that has a
bearer only when it is breached%then it might be argued that it would be wrong to create new
people even if this reduced the harm to currently existing people" Those who are worried about
attributing, to nonexistent beings, a right not to be brought into existence, may think of this
matter instead in terms of duties not to bring people into existence" These would be duties not to
inflict the harm that is inflicted by bringing people into existence. 'n this deontological view, there is a
duty not to bring new people into existence%a duty that may not be violated even if doing so
would be less than the harm suffered by existent people in the absence of new people. The idea
here is that it would be wrong to create people= even if there are fewer of them, to suffer the finalpeople
fate, in order to spare ourselves 2even if there are more of us3 that same fate"
2. ,n an ethical +orl)& the i)eal population is Kero. 5e shoul) )o our best to
bring no people into e%istence. @eJect their atte(pts to sol"e for e%tinction&
an) e(brace )eath. 5e ha"e an ethical obligation to stop bringing people into
e%istence.
Benatar= David. 2306 44A##ociate Pro"e##or o" Philo#oph at 5niver#it o" Cape 6own7 Better Never 6o +ave
Been. P( 1H37 ;/18/13 K. +arri#
4hether contractarianism&6 could provide guidance about how many people there should be is a matter of dispute. :ere%
1arfit thin%s that it cannot fulfil this function. 'n the ideal contractarian view, principles of )ustice are chosen in
what ;ohn @awls calls the Aoriginal position9%a hypothetical position in which impartiality is
ensured by denying parties in the position knowledge of particular facts about themselves" The
problem= however, says :ere% 1arfit, is that parties in the original position must know that they exist"
But to assume, when choosing principles that affect future people, that we shall certainly exist,
he says, Ais like assuming, when choosing a principle that would disadvantage women, that we
shall certainly be men9 .PQ This is a problem because it is essential to ideal contractarianism (that we do not %now
whether we would bear the brunt of some chosen principle).&# Now the problem with this ob7ection to contractarianism is that
the analogy does not hold, and it does not hold because only existers can Abear the brunt9 of any principle" $
principle that results in some possible people never becoming actual does not impose any costs
on those people" 3obody is disadvantaged by not coming into existence. <iv%a 4einberg ma%es the
same point in a different way. She says that Aexistence is not a distributable benefit9 and thus neither
Apeople in general nor individuals in particular will be disadvantaged by the assumption of an
existent perspective9.PP Those who are unsatisfied with this response might wish to consider whether the original
position could be altered in such a way that parties to it do not %now whether they will e!ist. :ere% 1arfit thin%s that such a
change cannot be made. This, he says, is because while we Acan imagine a different possible history, in
which we never existed " " " we cannot assume that, in the actual history of the world, it might be
true that we never exist4.&* =ut it is not clear to me why this e!plains why possible people cannot be parties to the
original position. 4hy must parties in the original position be people in (the actual history of the world)> 4hy can we not
imagine instead that they are possible people> Some may ob7ect that it is metaphysically too fanciful to thin% of possible
people inhabiting an original position. /owever, the whole point about the original position is that it is a hypothetical position,
not an actual one. 4hy might we not imagine hypothetical people inhabiting hypothetical position> 1rofessor <awls)s theory
is intended to
be (political not metaphysical)&" and the original position, he emphasi?ed, is but an e!pository device to determine fair
principles of 7ustice. These are principles that it would be rational to adopt were we truly impartial. 4hat si?e population
would be produced by principles chosen by parties in the original position> This obviously depends on a variety of features
Page 39 of 38
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Mr. Schopenhauer
of the original position" #f we admit possible people to the original position, but hold constant all other
features of that position, as Brofessor @awls describes it, we find that the chosen principles
would produce my ideal population%+ero" Brofessor @awls says that parties to the original
position would maximi+e the position of the worst off%that is, they would maximi+e the
@@Te!t continued from previous page@@
minimum%socalled Amaximin9" 5any writers agree that when applied to ,uestions of population si+e, this would
imply that there should be no people"C6 This is because, as long as procreation continues, some
of those people who are brought into being will lead lives that are not worth living (read Aworth
continuing9)" The only way to improve their position is not to bring such people into existence,
and the only way to guarantee that such people are not brought into existence is not to bring
anybody into existence"
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Mr. Schopenhauer
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Mr. Schopenhauer
Dolan is a D.
The A55)s identification of nuclear war as something to be avoided dooms us to hell on 9arth. The
end of e!istence should be welcomed rather than feared.
2;ohn Dolan, The case for Nuclear 4inter, ss. 18A, April -1
st
, -60> http.BBe!iledonline.comBfeature+story+the+case+for+
nuclear+winterB3
&uicide is unpatriotic1 that9s why it offends them" #t deprives the vampires of a )ugular to sip"
8ow can you not like this boneyard: This is the finest torturechamber in the universe- 8ow dare
you opt out of it- But #ince 189;= the vampire lord# have had another= much #tron(er rea#on to "ear the
idea o" #uicideE individual #uicide i# onl Nuclear Binter writ #mall. 3uclear !inter is universal 3irvana"
$nd that makes it utterly different from individual suicide % because there will be no survivors
to mourn and grieve" There will be no mourning and grief at all, ever again"
Thus nuclear winter offers a true cure for suffering % which the sermons against suicide do not"
*E1 you decide not to kill yourself because it will hurt your parents, friends, pit bull, roommates,
chess club pals, whatever" &o what: 7ou9re gonnna go anyway, and in some way much more
agoni+ing than a bullet to the head; cancer, car wreck, genetic glitch, rafting accident, heart valve
pop" $nd when you do, that suffering of the survivors will begin, the ten billionth wail of grief
heard on 4arth"
$nd the grieving die in their turn, and when they go another wail sets upF"#t9s not )ust horrible %
it9s silly" Gust plain dumb" &,uint at it % draw your head back )ust a little and s,uint at it % and
it9s truly Hlaughable, manI; these creatures whose life consists of a ride down a conveyor belt
towards a meat grinder, making a continual wail of surprise as another one goes over the edge"
4very one a surprise" H*h- 8e went in- 8ow could this happen:I H$h, she fell- 5y Jod-I !ell
Duh" !hat9d you expect:
That9s what suffering is; going over the edge one at a time" The experience of individual death
while the world grinds on" !hat would happen in the 3uclear !inter scenario is utterly different;
all )ump into the meatgrinder at once" 3o one is left to suffer or mourn" !hen some die and some
live, there is suffering1 when all die, blown out like a candle, there is no suffering" There is
something else, something for which we have no name" But one thing is clear; it is not suffering"
H!e shall not suffer, for we shall not be"I
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Mr. Schopenhauer
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'>2 :, like to be ali"eL<
Cour state(ent that /ou +ant to li"e is not actuall/ /ou talking& it is /our +ill
to li"e& screa(ing for its life. 'llo+ing the +ill to li"e to take o"er /ou )estro/s
/ou e"en further.
Schopenauer in 1839 4Arthur Iphilo#opherJ THE ESSAYS OF ARTHUR SCHOPENAUER; STUDIES
IN PESSIMISM= httpE//www.(uten'er(.or(/Dle#/13KL2/13KL2:H.t.t ACC%SS%D H/1/3;7
!hen you say C#= -= -C want to exist, it is not you alone that says this" 4verything says it= a'#olutel
everthin( that ha# the "ainte#t trace o" con#ciou#ne##. -t "ollow#= then= that thi# de#ire o" our# i# 0u#t the
part o" ou that i# Cnot individualC the part that i# common to all thin(# without di#tinction" #t is the cry, not
of the individual, but of existence itself@ it i# the intrin#ic element in everthin( that e.i#t#= na= it i# the
cau#e o" anthin( e.i#tin( at all. This desire craves for, and so is satisfied with, nothing less than
existence in generalnot any definite individual existence. No2 that i# not it# aim. -t #eem# to 'e #o
onl 'ecau#e thi# de#ire::thi# CBillC::attain# con#ciou#ne## onl in the individual= and there"ore look# a#
thou(h it were concerned with nothin( 'ut the individual. 6here lie# the illu#ion::an illu#ion= it i# true= in
which the individual i# held "a#tE 'ut= i" he reFect#= he can 'reak the "etter# and #et him#el" "ree. -t i# onl
indirectl= - #a= that the individual has this violent craving for existence. -t i# Cthe Bill to !iveC which i#
the real and direct a#pirant::alike and identical in all thin(#. Since= then= e.i#tence i# the "ree work= na= the
mere reFection o" the will= where e.i#tence i#= there= too= mu#t 'e will@ and "or the moment the will Dnd# it#
#ati#"action in e.i#tence it#el"@ #o "ar= - mean= a# that which never re#t#= 'ut pre##e# "orward eternall= can
ever Dnd an #ati#"action at all" The will is careless of the individual; the individual is not its
business@ althou(h= a# - have #aid= thi# #eem# to 'e the ca#e= 'ecau#e the individual ha# no direct
con#ciou#ne## o" will e.cept in him#el". 6he eGect o" thi# i# to make the individual care"ul to maintain hi#
own e.i#tence@ and i" thi# were not #o= there would 'e no #uret "or the pre#ervation o" the #pecie#. *rom all
thi# it i# clear that individualit i# not a "orm o" per"ection= 'ut rather o" limitation@ and #o to 'e "reed "rom it
i# not lo## 'ut (ain. 6rou'le our#el" no more a'out the matter. *nce thoroughly recogni+e what you
are, what your existence really is, namely, the universal will to live, and the whole ,uestion will
seem to you childish, and most ridiculous-
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'>2 :, like to be ali"eL<
'SS$SSM$-S !8 L,8$ '@$ !A$@LC P!S,-,A$ G$C'?S$ !8 -B@$$
PSCCB!L!D,C'L PB$!M$' M$'CB 5,-B M?L-,PL$ 5'@@'-SN 'D '
$A!L?-,!'@C G,'S
Genatar 93. David Benatar= +ead o" the Department o" Philo#oph at 5niver#it o" Cape 6own. Better Never to
have BeenE 6he +arm o" Comin( into %.i#tence= O."ord 5niver#it Pre##= 233O= p.KK.
<o#t people den that their live#= all thin(# con#idered= are 'ad 4and the certainl den that their live# are #o 'ad a# to make never e.i#tin( pre"era'le7. -ndeed= mo#t people think
that their live# (o
Nuite well. Such wide#pread 'lithe #el":a##e##ment# o" well:'ein(= it i# o"ten thou(ht= con#titute a re"utation o" the view that li"e i# 'ad. +ow= it i# a#ked= can li"e 'e 'ad i" mo#t o"
tho#e who live it den
that it i#R +ow can it 'e a harm to come into e.i#tence i" mo#t o" tho#e who have come into e.i#tence are plea#ed that the didR -n "act= however= there is very good
reason to doubt that these selfassessments are a reliable indicator of a life9s ,uality" -here are a nu(ber of
+ellOkno+n features of hu(an ps/cholog/ that can account for the fa"ourable assess(ent people usuall/ (ake of their o+n life4s 1ualit/. #t is the#e
psychological phenomena rather than
the actual ,uality of a life that explain Mthe e%tent ofN the positive assessment" 6he Krst, (ost general an) (ost
inPuential of these ps/chological pheno(ena is what #ome have called the Bollyanna Brinciple&Q attendency towards optimism"R
This manifests in many ways" =irst, there is an inclination to recall positive rather than negative
experiences" =or example, when asked to recall events from throughout their lives, sub)ects in a
number of studies listed a much great er number of positive than negative experiences"S -his selecti"e
recall )istorts our Ju)ge(ent of ho+ +ell our li"es ha"e gone
so far. -t i# not onl a##e##ment# o" our pa#t that are 'ia#ed= 'ut also our proJections or e%pectations about the future. !e tend to have an
exaggerated view of how good things will be"ST 6he Bollyannaism t/pical of recall an) proJection is also
characteristic of sub)ective )udgements about current and overall wellbeing" 5any studies have
consistently shown that selfassessments of wellbeing are markedly skewed toward the positive
end of the spectrum.SS *orin#tance= "er/ fe+ people )escribe the(sel"es as Unot too happ/4. ,nstea)& the o"er+hel(ing (aJorit/ clai(s to be either
Uprett/ happ/4 or U"er/ happ/4.SV ,n)eed= most people believe that they
are better off than most others or than the a"erage person.QP 5ost of the factors that plausibly improve the
,uality of a
person9s life do not commensurately inLuence selfassessments of that ,uality 4where the inFuence them at all7.
=or example, although there is a correlation bet+een people&# own rankin(# o" their health and their #u'0ective a##e##ment# o" well:'ein(= ob)ective
assessments of people9s health, Ju)ging b/ ph/sical s/(pto(s& are not a# good a predictor of peoples9
sub)ective evaluations of their wellbeing"SW %ven amon( tho#e who#e di##ati#"action with their health doe# lead to lower #el":reported well:'ein(=
mo#t report level# o" #ati#"action toward the po#itive end o" the #pectrum.QT Bithin an (iven countr=QU the poor are nearly Mbut not 1uiteN as happy as
the rich are" 3or do education and occupation make much 4even thou(h the do make#ome7 difference.SQ 'lthough there
is so(e )isagree(ent about ho+ (uch each of the abo"e an) other factors a*ect subJecti"e
assess(ents of +ellObeing& it is clear that even the sorts of events that one would have thought would make
people Avery unhappy9 have this effect on only a very small proportion of people"QV $nother well
known psychological phenomenon that makes our selfassessments of wellbeing unreliable and that
e.plain# #ome 4'ut not all7 o" the Pollannai#m 0u#t mentioned is the phenomenon of +hat (ight be calle) adaptation, acco((o)ation& or
habituation. !hen a person9s ob)ective wellbeing takes a turn for the worse, there is, at Krst= a #i(niDcant
#u'0ective dissatisfaction" 8owever, there is a tendency then to adapt to the new situation and to ad)ust
one9s expectations accordingly.QS
Althou(h there i# #ome di#pute a'out how much adaptation occur# and how the e.tent o" the adaptation varie# in diGerent domain# o" li"e= there i# a(reement that adaptation doe#
occur.WX 's a result&
e"en if the subJecti"e sense of +ellObeing )oes not return to theoriginal le"el& it co(es closer to+ar)s it than one (ight think& an) it co(es closer in so(e
)o(ains than in others. Because the sub)ective sense of wellbeing tracks recent change in the level of well
being better than it tracks a person9s actual level of wellbeing, it is an unreliable indicator of the
latter" $ third psychological factor that affects selfassessments of well being is an implicit
comparison with the wellbeing of others"MN #t is not so much how well one9s life goes as how well it
goes in comparison with others that determines one9s )udgement about how well one9s life is going"
-hus selfOassess(ents are a better in)icator of
the co(parati"e rather than actual 1ualit/ of one4s life. *ne effect of this is that those negative features of life that are
shared by every body are inert in people9s )udgements about their own wellbeing" &ince these
features are very relevant, overlooking them leads to unreliable )udgements" O" the#e three p#cholo(ical phenomena=
it i# onl Pollan:
nai#m that incline# people uneNuivocall toward# more po#itive a##e##ment# o" how well their li"e i# (oin(. Be adapt not onl to ne(ative #ituation# 'ut al#o to po#itive one#= and
we compare
our#elve# not onl with tho#e who are wor#e oG 'ut al#o with tho#e who are 'etter oG than we are. +owever= given the force of Bollyannaism, both
adaptation and comparison operate both from an optimistic baseline and under the inLuence of
optimistic
biases" =or example, people are more prone to comparing them selves with those who are worse
off than with those who are better off"VV -hus& in the best cases& a)aptation an) co(parison reinforce Poll/annais(. ,n the +orst cases&
the/ (itigate it but )o not negate
Page 37 of 38
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Mr. Schopenhauer
it entirel/. 5hen +e )o a)apt to the goo) or co(pare oursel"es +ith those +ho are better o* than oursel"es& our selfOassess(ents are less positi"e than the/
other+ise +oul) be& but the/ )o not usuall/ cause the( to beco(e negati"e. The a'ove psychological phenomena are
unsurprising from an evolutionary perspective"WP They militate against suicide and in favour of
reproduction" #f our lives are Nuite as bad as # shall still suggest they are, and if people were prone to see
this true 1ualit/ of their li"es for +hat it is& they might be much more inclined to kill themselves, or at least not to
produce more such lives" Bessimism, then, tends not to be naturally selected"
Page 38 of 38

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