What Is the Question to which Anti-Natalism Is the Answer?

The ethics of biological procreation has received a great deal of attention in recent years. Yet, as I show in this paper, much of what has come to be called procreative ethics is conducted in a strangely abstract, impersonal mode, one which stands little chance of speaking to the practical perspect...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Smyth, Nicholas (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Interlibrary Loan:Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany)
Published: [2020]
In: Ethical theory and moral practice
Year: 2020, Volume: 23, Issue: 1, Pages: 71-87
IxTheo Classification:NBE Anthropology
NCB Personal ethics
NCH Medical ethics
VA Philosophy
Further subjects:B Moral Philosophy
B Applied Ethics
B Anti-natalism
B David Benatar
B meaning of life
B Existentialism
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:The ethics of biological procreation has received a great deal of attention in recent years. Yet, as I show in this paper, much of what has come to be called procreative ethics is conducted in a strangely abstract, impersonal mode, one which stands little chance of speaking to the practical perspectives of any prospective parent. In short, the field appears to be flirting with a strange sort of practical irrelevance, wherein its verdicts are answers to questions that no-one is asking. I go on to articulate a theory of what I call existential grounding, a notion which explains the role that prospective children play in the lives of many would-be parents. Procreative ethicists who want their work to have real practical relevance must, I claim, start to engage with this markedly first-personal kind of practical consideration.
ISSN:1572-8447
Contains:Enthalten in: Ethical theory and moral practice
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s10677-020-10070-7