David Benatar's new book, The Human Predicament, offers justifiably pessimistic analyses of some of the most interesting and important issues of human existence, including birth, suffering, death, and suicide. Benatar's analyses are as beautifully crafted and written as they are scholarly and thoughtful. The Human Predicament is a grand work of philosophy, but contains important insights for many of the ... Read moresocial and life sciences, including psychology, sociology, biology, as well as to medicine and law. Not only will I recommend this book to my colleagues and graduate and undergraduate students, but I also will recommend it to my family and friends. The Human Predicament is a stunning achievement by a deeply compassionate man.
Todd Shackelford, Distinguished Professor and Chair of Psychology, Oakland University
What thinking person doesn't care about the (possible) meaning of life, the quality of human life, the nature and disvalue of death, the option of suicide, and many other similar topics? David Benatar addresses these engaging and important topics along with many others. The book is well-argued and extremely well-written. I was struck by the sense that the quality was about as high as any philosophy I can remember reading: short, clear sentences, with not a word wasted or misplaced. Even someone who is sunnier in outlook than Benatar, yet willing to take his arguments seriously, may end up finding that he or she agrees with most of them in this volume. I do not see the human predicament as pessimistically as David Benatar does; but I found myself disagreeing less than I expected to - for example, in his sensitive and probing discussion of suicide.
David DeGrazia, George Washington University
Those readers familiar with Better Never to Have Been will find the discussion of the self in The Human Predicament worth their attention. However, I encourage first-time readers of Benetar's pessimistic philosphy to start with The Human Predicament. It is both highly accessible and engrossing - so much so that it can be read in one day.
Kirsten Egerstrom, The Philosophers' Magazine
The Human Predicament is worth reading for its often insightful discussion of the practical implications of accepting the broad pessimistic contention that all lives are bad when judged by any relevant measure.
David Matheson, Carleton University, Canada, The Philosophical Quarterly
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