Discussion Giving birth is the most selfish thing someone can do

[reloadmyrifle]

When parents decide to give birth, they always do so for their own satisfaction or goals. A person who is not born cannot have needs or exercise an influence on the world. Nor can a person who isn't born consent to such a thing. By giving birth the parents create additional suffering.
The argument that "life is somehow beautiful and that a person is lucky to be alive to experience the happiness of this world. " I don't think this reasoning works because if a person had never been born, no such need would have been created. There would be no need to have meaningful experiences or anything of the sort. Suffering would be physically impossible, in fact there would be no concept of it.
I understand people who value birth and life, for the simple reason that a culture has to value these things in order to have survived this long. But from a moral point of view, giving birth is extremely callous and selfish.

Also, with overpopulation coming to a rise giving birth is also burdening other life forms and the Earth itself. There is no need for more humans on this planet.


If someone disagrees on my point of view please enlighten me because this is just my perspective of life. I don't mean to have such a negative outlook on human creation, but in my eyes life is suffering.
Im at the point that I cannot sympathize with a pregnant woman, and I cannot understand how this world does simply for the fact that I know that child will be subjected to suffering. My parents created me out of their selfish desires to be fulfilled in life. Because of their actions I am subjected to a cruel fate which can only be escaped by death

 

[Passenger4224]

Having kids is also a huge gamble. You don't know if they're going to turn out to be the next superhuman or if they'll be as fucked up and deformed as I am. It is pure selfishness to take that chance, especially nowadays!

I will never forgive my parents. Ever.

 

[imontheloose]

Ideally we'd have some nutjob seize power and force mass extinction. Procreation prolongs suffering; it is the worst crime ever.

 

[Somewhat Suicidal]

I have to say I don't agree but I get your drift from a moral standpoint regarding the person who is given birth.
Probably not much use in arguing with about this tho, it's a matter of opinion after all

But seriously do we need 3 separate new antinatalist threads every day. Just write some posts in existing topics that interest you (I think it's 20), use the search function and you will 1000 others like this within the past year alone probably...
I still think search function should be available immdiately, I don't get why its not

 

[enso]

Hi! Your point is absolutely valid!

Different people just see life differently. For some - life is full of good memories, they live in democratic nations, they are not influenced by conservative/patriarchal agenda (it goes both for men and women), they have low to none risk of dying in some military conflict. And even that is not 100% defence against nihilsm and depression.

But it is just an evolution. For example, some people think bringing new life is selfish and they do not reproduce. As a result, people, who think other way - reproduce. This is just basic evolutionary law. It just comes this way that antinatalists can't become majority, because other part, who will keep reproducing, will become majority. Even if we look into birth rate decline, it is not because people just don't want to have children at all, many want, they just can not afford it, because current family is fully atomized comparing to families that existed earlier in human history, where raising of children was duty of all village/settlement and not only one mother and father.

But, anyway, it seems like with technological progress - AI advancement and robotics development, there just will be no need in many amount of human beings there. So, whether you are efilist/antinatalist or not, it comes true. Current trend shows that amount of people will become less and less