Antinatalism is the view that procreation is morally wrong. Its most well-known current defender is David Benatar, a professor of philosophy at the University of Capetown, who explicated this moral position on procreation in his 2006 book Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming Into Existence. However, antinatalism long predates Benatar’s work. Antinatalism has…
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The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer wrote extensively on – what he believed to be – the intrinsic misery of existence. Even if you don’t end up agreeing with Schopenhauer’s pessimistic worldview, reading some of his writings on the human condition is still a reliable way to dampen your mood. As I will elaborate in this…
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Being down-to-earth is an admirable and valuable personal trait. Down-to-earth people are realistic – they avoid illusions and pretensions when evaluating themselves and the world. The opposite of this reasonableness could entail a number of negative characteristics: self-aggrandizement, self-importance, delusional ambition, utopianism, and being over-idealistic. But down-to-earthness is a difficult balancing act. How do you…
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