This one's basically substanceless diatribe, whose conclusions never really rise above incredulous declarations like "Have you ever read a statement more contrary to reason this this?", "...it's just plain stupid.", and "PS. Let's hope none of Benatar's or Singer's fans are found dead any time soon." The comments section isn't much better, although there IS this gem-
"Actually I think Benatar makes a lot of sense. Given the ratio of pain to pleasure in human existence, and presuming that there's no eschatological purpose to it, you either reach that logical conclusion or else put on a brave existential face and pretend that despite all the suffering and misery (and abrupt, pointless end), somehow the experience of living makes is worth it. To say, as Woody Allen put it at the end of "Annie Hall," that we keep on living because we "need the eggs." But I've always found the latter attitude an intellectually dishonest one."
Written by Todd M. Aglialoro
A lot of the rest is your typical god-talk fare (the blog IS InsideCatholic.com, after all). Of course, and as I've argued in my book, traditional Christianity is probably the greatest argument against procreation the world has ever known, given the inconceivably horrendous stakes of eternal damnation. Why anyone who believes in an eternal hell would bring a child into the world is beyond me. It's the ultimate 'Everything'll work out for the best' faithgesture, isn't it? Pushing a child in front of a bus for the entertainment value of seeing if he'll get out of the way in time is mild in comparison.
How the hell did we ever get into this mess?
4 comments:
Another brilliant post.
Thanks for the support, man. We each have our part to play.
How... indeed. I've always thought it strange that a moment of pleasure for two, could transform into a lifetime (possibly an eternity if certain ideologies were correct) of pain for one.
Life is not, as they say, unfair. It goes far beyond that. It is unjust. Those of us who would have nothing to do with their thoughts and behavior must put up with their constant assaults. I wonder if Schopenhauer was putting his feelings on that matter into analogy with the "cracking whip" distraction story.
Garrett:
Yeah, the eternal damnation thing is certainly beyond the pale, isn't it? To bring a child into an existence where such a thing is believed is beyond cruel.
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