Hold hands and die: What is anti-natalism
Many people consider the extinction of humanity as a whole and their nation in particular, a great threat - this, for example, is often remembered in discussions about the right to childlessness. In this coordinate system, it is assumed that the family (and first of all the woman) “must” the country of children. But there is another point of view: some people not only do not believe that the preservation and growth of the population is an absolute good, but they are confident that humanity should stop reproducing, that is, completely abandon childbearing. This position is called anti-natalism, which literally translates as "against birth." The opposite point of view, according to which it is necessary to leave offspring and continue the race, is called pronatalist.
It is important to understand that the anti-natalism and the ideology of childfree are not the same thing. The decision to have childfree may have different reasons, from the reluctance to obey public attitudes and the priority of a career over the family to the absence of any interest in children. In the case of antinatalism, the rejection of procreation is based on belief and theory: it is a complex worldview, according to which you need to "join hands and die out," as Rast Cole said from The Real Detective. At the same time, anti-natalists do not feel hostility towards children as such - they may even have their own, which does not negate pessimistic views on the future of humanity as a whole. We understand why some believe that people should cease to exist as a species, and what beliefs underlie anti-natalism.
In an essay with the saying title "On the insignificance and sorrows of life," he notes that "life is an enterprise that does not pay back its costs." After all, most of our efforts go to somehow provide for our needs, as well as more or less come to terms with ourselves: "Pay attention to what every person usually has to do with satisfaction: for the most part it is nothing but as the meager maintenance of his life itself, which is necessary with tireless work and eternal care to win every day in the struggle against need, and death is seen in the future. "
Schopenhauer was largely inspired by Eastern religious teachings. The first of the four noble truths of Buddhism says that life is dukkha - suffering caused by passions. Despite the fact that religious beliefs do not interfere with many Buddhists to have children, Schopenhauer considered reckless and even cruel to condemn the future person to dissatisfaction and sadness.
If the world is full of pain, is it not ethical to free other people from it in advance, preventing their birth? Moreover, the existence for man is always a given, not a choice. The book of the Japanese writer Akutagava Ryunosuke "In the Land of Watermen" describes the clans of the fairytale people Kapp (watermen, popular characters of Japanese mythology), during which parents ask the unborn child whether he wants to be born at all? “I don’t want to be born. Firstly, I’m afraid of my father’s heredity - at least his psychopathy. And besides, I’m sure that kappa should not multiply,” says one small kappa directly from the mother’s womb, after which the midwife wraps the pregnancy backwards. The parable of Akutagava hints that people do not have such a space for maneuver - it remains to adapt and accept the rules of the game. In the light of such views, the phrase “I did not ask to give birth to me” can be regarded not only as a manipulation, but also as a fundamental ethical problem: do we have the right to condemn others to forced existence?
The Norwegian philosopher Peter Wessel Zapffe develops anti-natalist ideas in the work of The Last Messiah. It begins with the parable of the hunter, who, having gone to work, suddenly felt "fraternity in suffering among all living things" - that is, he realized that he was powerless before death just like the animals he hunts. We are talking about existential fear, which is peculiar to all people. This kind of anxiety is not associated with specific reasons that could be worked out - it is largely a consequence of what we experience, that we are mortal. It is difficult to completely cope with this fear even with the help of specialists. Psychotherapist Yekaterina Grigorieva says that with fear of death, psychotherapy needs to work to improve the quality of life: "There is a pattern: the higher the satisfaction, the less anxiety of death. And vice versa. If there is a feeling of realization, the feeling that we live life well, then death does not seem so terrible. Here is such a paradox. "
According to Benatar, not to leave offspring is our ethical duty. None of us is obliged to increase happiness in the world, but we, nevertheless, are morally obligated not to increase misfortune. No parent can promise a child that his life will be exceptionally happy, and keep his promise
Another anti-natalist viewer is our contemporary David Benatar, a philosopher from the University of Cape Town, who expresses ideas that many consider controversial to say the least (for example, discrimination against men and the white minority in South Africa). In addition, he is the author of the book "It is better not to be" - according to the scriptwriter of "The Real Detective" Nika Pitstsolatto, it was on the basis of Benatar's ideas that gloomy monologues were written that Detective Rast Cole says against the backdrop of Louisiana landscapes, mentioning, in particular, "the sin of fatherhood" .
According to Benatar, not to leave offspring is our ethical duty. None of us is obliged to increase happiness in the world, but we, nevertheless, are morally obligated not to increase misfortune. No parent can promise a child that his life will be exceptionally happy, and keep his promise: anyone who comes into the world will experience anxiety, pain and grief, and in the end, death will inevitably await him. According to Benatar, the choice is obvious: we can feel the loss only if before we had something - people, who were not born at all, would not feel anything. "We are all in a kind of trap. We have already plunged into existence," he states in his book. And if we don’t change anything for ourselves (Benatar doesn’t approve suicide), then we can “help” others without letting them be born. However, Benatar does not think that mankind will really listen to his ideas and stop multiplying. However, the fact that at least some refuse from childbirth, he considers an important "harm reduction". On the question of whether he has children, as well as other personal questions, the philosopher does not answer.
But perhaps the most pessimistic (within the already pessimistic theory) idea associated with anti-natalism belongs to the nineteenth-century philosopher Eduard Hartmann. He suggested that, disillusioned with the possibility of achieving common happiness through progress, which will inevitably occur at the “end of history”, humanity will decide to end its existence. But at the same time he paid attention to the fact that even after disappearing, the human race can arise again - this is an obvious failure for anti-natalists.
The organization emphasizes that its members do not advocate murder, suicide, mass sterilization, and violence as such. Speech only about consciously refuse to continue the race. According to their beliefs, parenthood is harmful to the Earth, because just because of one species - homo sapiens - many other species on the planet have already disappeared. And in the future everything will only get worse if people do not do everything possible to restore the biosphere. Humanity is constantly forcibly destroying itself through wars, say those who share the ideals of VHEMT - so why not do the same in a peaceful and voluntary way?
The position of environmental activists causes many objections, which they examine in detail on their website. For example, when asked if man is a part of nature, they answer that the environmental problems created by man are not related to the outside world. Trying to look at humanity from the perspective of other living beings, VHEMT compares people with parasites - life forms that function at the expense of others: "Are we a part of nature just like a forestry company is part of a forest? Or is a farmer part of a farm? We could would be a part of nature only if they were, for example, like otters who eat sea urchins but serve themselves as food for sharks. " Having escaped from the food chain, a person stopped “returning” something to nature, thus destroying the ecosystem. VHEMT invites doubters to imagine an ordinary day and ask themselves: which of our regular classes can be called a "part of nature"?
According to the "moderate" eco-activists, the problem can be solved if we help competent resettlement and limit the growth of the population. But members of the movement who look at things more radically believe that this cannot be limited to. If we put all extinct and endangered species due to our fault on one side of the scales, and our type to the other, then the advantage will be obvious. Perhaps thoughts of the disappearance of their own species will help many realize what it meant for others, activists suggest. Nature protection, from their point of view, does not compensate for the harm done: each new person increases the amount of pollution, while the resources of the Earth are not infinite.
VHEMT advocates do not approve forced sterilization, which is practiced in some countries, but call for responsibility. They say that childbearing is a right which, nevertheless, it is possible and not to use
Supporters of VHEMT do not approve of forced sterilization, which is practiced in some countries (often people with disabilities, transgender and intersex people are forced into surgery; cases are known in India, USA, Japan, Namibia, South Africa, Australia and other countries), but they are calling for responsibility. They say that childbearing is a right which, nevertheless, it is possible and not to use. By the way, those who already have children can join the movement - you just need to stop and not start more.
Antinatalistic views are preached by the ecopolitical art group "Church of Euthanasia". The leader of the organization, Chris Korda, was engaged in various projects - including actionists, whose message is still considered at least contradictory and at most dangerous, one of her followers eventually committed an ideological suicide. The purpose of the organization is to inspire humanity to extinction, for which, according to Korda, all means are good. The pillars on which the doctrine of the “Church” rests include the approval of abortion, contraception, all forms of sexual interaction that do not lead to conception, suicide, and even cannibalism. None of the members of the group, by their own admission, did not eat people on their own, but they still loved to shock the public with theoretical calculations in the spirit of "if you love meat so much, so use those who have just died." However, the organization insists that the reduction in the number of people should be achieved only by voluntary methods, the group does not approve the forced sterilization.
The members of the “Euthanasia Church” walk along the line between environmental initiatives and provocative performance and deliberately seek to shock others. Partly continuing the traditions of the Dadaists and considering the modern culture to be absurd, they do not hesitate in their means, promoting their main slogan: “Thou shalt not procreate” (“Do not multiply”). A number of scandals are associated with their activities. For example, for some time, information on methods of suicide was posted on the organization’s website, which was deleted after a woman took advantage of her, which led to legal proceedings.
The discussion of how expedient the existence of mankind as a species naturally meets is mistrust and negative reaction: such an idea encroaches on our basic intrinsic value. However, such radicalism is only a consequence of the awareness of responsibility for their actions that has finally come. Our task is not to die out, but to seek sensible solutions to the problems created by mankind.
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