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jeff_finley's review
4.0
I appreciate some pessimist philosophy and this was a well written, easy to digest book. It’s written from a purely materialist perspective, which leaves out any spiritual explanations. If you are familiar with near death experiencers or psychedelic trip reports, you’ll notice they also have claims on the purpose for the human experience. But they tend to be positive, or about profound love and oneness. Some say Earth is a school and that this temporary experience is only a blip, that our consciousness continues in after death. That it’s a simulation or illusion and not really real, although it feels like it is.
This book doesn’t get into all that. But it was still interesting to hear his arguments for why life on Earth (for humans) can seem like it’s more harm than good. That consciousness, or self awareness of our own mortality, makes us feel trapped in a reality that we didn’t want to be in and can’t get out.
While I don’t agree with the author on everything, I appreciate it as a refreshing contrast to the positive optimism that we are always hearing.
This book doesn’t get into all that. But it was still interesting to hear his arguments for why life on Earth (for humans) can seem like it’s more harm than good. That consciousness, or self awareness of our own mortality, makes us feel trapped in a reality that we didn’t want to be in and can’t get out.
While I don’t agree with the author on everything, I appreciate it as a refreshing contrast to the positive optimism that we are always hearing.
stevenyenzer's review
4.0
I stumbled uponThe Human Predicament at a time when I was already thinking about the questions it explores: Can human life be meaningful? Is life actually worth living? And should we reject suicide as an option for those who don't want to live anymore? These are extremely fraught questions, and Benatar writes about them with both rationality and compassion.
alexcoleridge's review
4.0
Well argued and so nicely written. I mainly decided to read this for the way Professor Benatar writes than for the subject matter, but I did end up really enjoying it anyway. One star missing because only a few chapters really had me hooked.
romcm's review
5.0
A clear, sensible argument that I’ll probably read more than once. It also felt deeply reassuring. I will try to be a pragmatic pessimist and create as much terrestrial meaning for myself as I can.
bogdanbalostin's review
5.0
Two sentence review: "Life sucks. Get over it."
I want to give this book 5 stars because all my life I wondered why people cannot see the truth. All their beliefs are just coping mechanisms. Was I the only one who didn't get life? Well, this is the truth as closely as it can get to the truth.
Even if we are not meaningless from the cosmic perspective, probably the meaning of existence would be something akin to the spreading of genes. That is the purpose of human organisms and yet it seems so unsatisfying, you know. Better be no meaning as we can create our own, than a frivolous meaning like proliferation.
If you're a beginner in philosophy, try to read some of his references. It may help you combat his arguments or to agree more.
I want to give this book 5 stars because all my life I wondered why people cannot see the truth. All their beliefs are just coping mechanisms. Was I the only one who didn't get life? Well, this is the truth as closely as it can get to the truth.
Even if we are not meaningless from the cosmic perspective, probably the meaning of existence would be something akin to the spreading of genes. That is the purpose of human organisms and yet it seems so unsatisfying, you know. Better be no meaning as we can create our own, than a frivolous meaning like proliferation.
If you're a beginner in philosophy, try to read some of his references. It may help you combat his arguments or to agree more.