Mar. 23, 2021, John Æonid

This article is a stub.  It's a response to a philosophical video that presents a paradox called the The Repugnant Conclusion.  I summarize that paradox at a later date, but you can find the video here: https://youtu.be/vqBl50TREHU.  The following is a response to that video.

Two objections. A and B cannot be equal, and I cannot see B as better (see second objection); therefor contrary to the problems assumption, B must be worse. (I would have an intermediate objection about C being better than B based on the Harrison Bergeron problem, but that's a different debate.) My second problem is in part personal, in that my parents thought that having babies like everybody else was the thing to do. I.E. Having babies is always good. Yes, my Dad actually told me they had us "because everyone else was doing it". The problem for me is that my parents were unable to provide a home sufficiently stable for raising well adjusted people. Consequently, I did not thrive in school, was bullied, didn't perform to expectation (an underachiever), and ended up not achieving my full potential with respect to career, and I'm one of those that won't be able to afford to retire, despite a moderately high I.Q. and reasonable work ethic. Also, I'm incapable of forming normal pair bonds. Yes, I've had people fall in love with me; my parents did get some things right. But, I'm too much a recluse to marry. It's a pity. I'm quite romantic, but others just won't put up with someone who needs so, so much alone time. I have developmental trauma disorder (aka childhood complex PTSD). Social services should have come and taken us away, but that wasn't a thing then. No, making babies is not always automatically good. Sometimes, it's a really horrible and cruel thing to do. Don't get me wrong; I've always loved my parents. They simply should never have had babies. So, more babies is not automatically better. Oh, and that notion about getting to be alive justifies bringing as many to life as possible just doesn't fly. Respect the value of life, but don't interpret that as meaning that we're obligated to create as many lives as possible. Maybe the right thing to do is value lives that exist more because there are so few. Think about what that means for the way lives are treated in the World as it is now. This so-called paradox is only a problem for those who fail to question social convention that deludes people into thinking they're somehow here on this planet for the sole purpose of growing up, going to school, falling in love, getting married, and having babies, and then complaining that they never visit you enough at the rest home.