On the Social and Personal Value of Existence

On the Social and Personal Value of Existence. Marc Fleurbaey and Alex Voorhoeve. In Iwao Hirose and Andrew Reisner (ed.) Weighing and Reasoning: Themes from the Work of John Broome. Oxford University Press (2015): 95-109.

26 Pages Posted: 9 Aug 2021

See all articles by Marc Fleurbaey

Marc Fleurbaey

Paris School of Economics

Alex Voorhoeve

Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE

Date Written: April 22, 2014

Abstract

If a potential person would have a good life if he were to come into existence, can we coherently regard his coming into existence as better for him than his never coming into existence? And can we regard the situation in which he never comes into existence as worse for him? In this paper, we argue that both questions should be answered affirmatively. We also explain where prominent arguments to differing conclusions go wrong. Finally, we explore the relevance of our answers to issues in population ethics.

Keywords: value of existence, population ethics, repugnant conclusion, person-affecting principle

Suggested Citation

Fleurbaey, Marc and Voorhoeve, Alex, On the Social and Personal Value of Existence (April 22, 2014). On the Social and Personal Value of Existence. Marc Fleurbaey and Alex Voorhoeve. In Iwao Hirose and Andrew Reisner (ed.) Weighing and Reasoning: Themes from the Work of John Broome. Oxford University Press (2015): 95-109., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3885151 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3885151

Marc Fleurbaey

Paris School of Economics ( email )

48 Boulevard Jourdan
Paris, 75014 75014
France

Alex Voorhoeve (Contact Author)

Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, LSE ( email )

Houghton Street
London, WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://personal.lse.ac.uk/voorhoev

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