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Quote by Vikram Seth

“I sometimes seem to myself to wander around the world merely accumulating material for future nostalgias.”

Author

Vikram Seth is an Indian-British author renowned for his poetry and novels. Born on June 20, 1952, he graduated from Oxford University, where he began his literary career. His works often explore complex human relationships and profound social themes. more

“Each one of us was harmed by being brought into existence. That harm is not negligible, because the quality of even the best lives is very bad—and considerably worse than most people recognize it to be. Although it is obviously too late to prevent our own existence, it is not too late to prevent the existence of future possible people.”

People Life Is Existence Quality Late Harm Too Late

Book:Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming Into Existence

Source: Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming Into Existence

“We infrequently contemplate the harms that await any new-born child—pain, disappointment, anxiety, grief, and death. For any given child we cannot predict what form these harms will take or how severe they will be, but we can be sure that at least some of them will occur. None of this befalls the nonexistent. Only existers suffer harm.”

Children Pain Form Suffering Given Born Grief Anxiety Disappointment Harm Contemplating Severe Grief And Death

Book:Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming Into Existence

Source: Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming Into Existence

“It is unlikely that many people will take to heart the conclusion that coming into existence is always a harm. It is even less likely that many people will stop having children. By contrast, it is quite likely that my views either will be ignored or will be dismissed. As this response will account for a great deal of suffering between now and the demise of humanity, it cannot plausibly be thought of as philanthropic. That is not to say that it is motivated by any malice towards humans, but it does result from a self-deceptive indifference to the harm of coming into existence.”