PHILOSOPHER

David Benatar

1966 - Today

Photo of David Benatar

Icon of person David Benatar

David Benatar (; born 1966) is a South African philosopher, academic, and author. He is best known for his work in moral philosophy and for advancing the position of antinatalism, the view that coming into existence is a serious harm. He is the author of Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence (2006), in which he argues that procreation is always morally wrong because it imposes harm by bringing sentient beings into existence. Central to this view is his asymmetry argument, which holds that the absence of pain is good even if no one benefits from it, while the absence of pleasure is not bad unless someone is deprived of it. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in 22 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 16 in 2019). David Benatar is the 1,240th most popular philosopher (down from 1,144th in 2019), the 202nd most popular biography from South Africa (down from 177th in 2019) and the 2nd most popular South African Philosopher.

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of David Benatar by language

Loading...

Among PHILOSOPHERS

Among philosophers, David Benatar ranks 1,240 out of 1,267. Before him are Julia Annas, Will Kymlicka, Chinmayananda Saraswati, Stephen Walt, James Dunn, and William Ames. After him are Peter Kreeft, Richard Crashaw, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Nel Noddings, Leonard Peikoff, and Paul Churchland.

Most Popular Philosophers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1966, David Benatar ranks 423. Before him are Vincenzo Sospiri, Andrew Wood, Stéphane Brizé, Rodney Mullen, Liz Cheney, and Niklas Zennström. After him are Sarita Choudhury, Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse, Yevgeny Mironov, Marcelo Gonçalves Costa Lopes, Edwig Van Hooydonck, and Cláudia Raia.

Others Born in 1966

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In South Africa

Among people born in South Africa, David Benatar ranks 202 out of 454. Before him are Charlbi Dean (1990), Baleka Mbete (1949), Govan Mbeki (1910), Thomas Shardelow (1931), Robert Fowler (1931), and Kimbal Musk (1972). After him are Phillip V. Tobias (1925), Damon Galgut (1963), Joan Harrison (1935), Guy Tunmer (1948), Eddie Keizan (1944), and Luki Botha (1930).

Others born in South Africa

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among PHILOSOPHERS In South Africa

Among philosophers born in South Africa, David Benatar ranks 2. Before him are John McDowell (1942).

South African born Philosophers

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous