Life, Death, and Meaning: Key Philosophical Readings on the Big Questions

by David Benatar (Editor)

In Life, Death, and Meaning, David Benatar offers a distinctive collection of readings designed to introduce undergraduates and lay readers to the key existential questions of philosophy: Do our lives have meaning? Is death something to be feared? Would it be better to be immortal? Classic and contemporary essays consider such questions as the meaning of life, creating people, death, suicide, immortality, and optimism and pessimism. These key readings are supplemented with helpful introductions, study questions, and suggestions for further reading, making the material accessible and interesting for students. In short, the book provides a singular introduction to the way that philosophy has dealt with the big questions of life that we are all tempted to ask.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Essays, Psychology, Death

472 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004

About the author

David Benatar (born 1966) is a South African philosopher, academic and author. He is best known for his advocacy of antinatalism in his book Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence, in which he argues that coming into existence is a serious harm, regardless of the feelings of the existing being once brought into existence, and that, as a consequence, it is always morally wrong to create more sentient beings.

Benatar is vegan, and has taken part in debates on veganism. He has argued that humans are "responsible for the suffering and deaths of billions of other humans and non-human animals. If that level of destruction were caused by another species we would rapidly recommend that new members of that species not be brought into existence." He has also argued that the outbreak of zoonotic diseases, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, is often the result of how humans mistreat animals.

Benatar is an atheist and has stated that he has no children of his own.

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light and breezy! Great for a summertime read

[Juan Pablo López Acosta · Rating 4 out of 5]

"El optimista proclama que vivimos en el mejor de los mundos posibles; el pesimista teme que esto sea verdad."
Un Benatar sobrio pero incisivo presenta facetas del dilema humano y profundiza algunas ideas previamente propuestas en su "Mejor nunca haber sido: el daño de haber sido traído a la existencia";
ideas oscuras, pesimistas y sumamente impopulares que bien valen la pena analizar no por sensacionalistas, sino por su estructura bien fundamentada. Algunas de ellas son:

-La existencia es siempre un daño, pero la muerte también lo es. Lo mejor es nunca haber sido.
-El suicidio es moralmente admisible bajo determinadas circunstancias.
-Tenemos una obligación moral de no procrear.

Según Benatar, de la relevancia cósmica no hay solución tangible y por lo tanto, no hay consuelo en ello. Afortunadamente, la relevancia terrenal es el único medio por el cual podemos dar sentido a la existencia y por lo tanto, existe un deber hacia con ello. Sin embargo, esta última afirmación, aunque optimista, no nos exime de la terrible carga de existir y de ninguna manera sirve como justificación para procrear.

Disfruté la lectura, y aunque mi cosmovisión dista de la de Benatar, sí creo que existe un valor moral dentro de su filosofía que puede contribuir a paliar el dolor de existir.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting collection of essays

Since this collection of essays about the meaning of life, death and related subjects like suicide was edited by David Benatar (The Human Predicament: A Candid Guide to Life's Biggest Questions, Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence) I was expecting that most of the essays would lean towards a more pessimistic view of existence.
In that sense I was somewhat disappointed, because the majority of the essays have a positive outlook of life and what it can mean to us. For instance, David Hume's defense of suicide is followed by Immanuel Kant's categorical refusal that suicide can ever be justified.

I feel that I should warn potential readers that most of these essays are fairly abstract in a philosophical sense and that some familiarity with classic philosophical is advised. Don't expect any advice on how to live a good and meaningful life (if such a things is überhaupt possible). But the different essays do present some very interesting and often conflicting ideas.

[մարիօ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Գրադարանի փիլիսոփայության բաժնում գտա էս գիրքը, երբ ուղղակի թափառում էի ու նկատեցի, որ մի հատված կա, մահվան ու կյանքի իմաստների մասին, էս մեկը միանգամից հետաքրքրեց։
Գիրքը էսսեների հավաքածու յա, ժամանակակից մի քանի փիլիսոփա-հոգեբանների, որոնք մտքեր ու պատմություններ են պատմում կյանքի, մահի, վախերի ու երևույթների տարբեր ընկալումների մասին, առօրյա, խոսակցական, հասկանալի լեզվով։ Բայց ինձ հետաքրքիր էր հատկապես նրանով, որ էսսեները շատ անկեղծ ու իրական են գրված, ոչ թե ոնց որ միշտ փիլիսոփայության մեջ լինում ա՝ վերացական, անհասկանալի բաների մասին, այլ կոնկրետ օրինակներ, պատմություններ, դիալոգներ։
Մի խոսքով՝ եթե թեթև, հավես մի բան ուզենաք կարդալ, անպայման կարդացեք :))

[Giovanni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good collection of essays. As always, I'm very impressed by the sharpness of Robert Nozick