# #1252 David Benatar - The Human Predicament: A Candid Guide to Life's Biggest Questions

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-dissenter-1161217/1252-david-benatar-the-human-predicament-a-candid-guide-to-life-s-biggest-questions
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-dissenter-1161217/1252-david-benatar-the-human-predicament-a-candid-guide-to-life-s-biggest-questions.md
Podcast: [The Dissenter](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-dissenter-1161217)
Published: 2026-05-11T18:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thedissenter/episodes/1252-David-Benatar---The-Human-Predicament-A-Candid-Guide-to-Lifes-Biggest-Questions-e3f7edt
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/822ba20/podcast/play/115636093/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-1-17%2Fbdf1cdcf-bd1b-5ac9-2543-543b7d0cb193.m4a
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-dissenter-1161217/episodes/1252-david-benatar-the-human-predicament-a-candid-guide-to-life-s-biggest-questions
Duration seconds: 3504

## Resource

******Support the channel****** Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedissenter PayPal: paypal.me/thedissenter PayPal Subscription 1 Dollar: https://tinyurl.com/yb3acuuy PayPal Subscription 3 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ybn6bg9l PayPal Subscription 5 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ycmr9gpz PayPal Subscription 10 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y9r3fc9m PayPal Subscription 20 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y95uvkao ******Follow me on****** Website: https://www.thedissenter.net/ The Dissenter Goodreads list: https://shorturl.at/7BMoB Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedissenteryt/ Twitter: https://x.com/TheDissenterYT This show is sponsored by Enlites, Learning & Development done differently. Check the website here: http://enlites.com/ Dr. David Benatar is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cape Town. He is best known for his advocacy of antinatalism in his book Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence, in which he argues that coming into existence is a serious harm, regardless of the feelings of the existing being once brought into existence, and that, as a consequence, it is always morally wrong to create more sentient beings. He’s also the author of The Human Predicament: A Candid Guide to Life's Biggest Questions (2017). In this episode, we focus on The Human Predicament. We talk about pessimism, optimism, and the human predicament. We discuss cosmic meaning and terrestrial meaning. We talk about quality of life. We discuss whether suffering is necessary in life, and whether transhumanism could be a solution. We talk about the role of death. Finally, we discuss how people should deal with their predicament. -- A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS/SUPPORTERS: PER HELGE LARSEN, BERNARDO SEIXAS, ADAM KESSEL, MATTHEW WHITINGBIRD, ARNAUD WO…

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