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THE IMMORALITY OF PROCREATION
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 September 2012
Extract
Many people hold that procreation is morally obligatory; one ought to bring children into existence because they benefit by being brought into existence. Often this line of thinking stems from the notion that procreation is intrinsically valuable; procreation should be pursued for its own sake. Other philosophers hold procreation is immoral because of the great harm it causes as a result of climate change, overpopulation, mental illness, and so forth. If current population growth continues, there will be an ever-shrinking supply of fresh water and food, leading to the suffering of future generations.
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- Copyright © The Royal Institute of Philosophy 2012
References
Note
1 Harrison, Gerald and Tanner, Julia. 2011. ‘Better Not to Have Children’. Think 10 (27): 113–121CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
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