References
Jeff McMahan, The Ethics of Killing (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 300.
See Thomas Nagel, Mortal Questions (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1979), pp. 1–10, and Peter Singer, Practical Ethics, 2nd ed. (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1993).
See Derek Parfit, Reasons and Persons (New York: Oxford University Press, 1984), pp. 381–438.
See Stuart Rachels, “Is it Good to Make Happy People,” Bioethics 12 (1998). See also Michael Tooley, “Value, Obligation, and the Asymmetry Question,” Bioethics 12 (1998).
Peter Singer, “Life's Uncertain Voyage,” in Phillip Pettit, Richard Sylvan, and Jean Norman eds., Metaphysics and Morality: Essays in Honor of J.J.C. Smart (Oxford: Blackwell, 1987).
Ibid, p. 170.
Ibid., p. 169.
Ibid., p. 158.
Ibid., p. 170.
Ibid., pp. 168–169.
See Christoph Fehige, “A Pareto Principle for Possible People,” in Christoph Fehige and Ulla Wessels, eds., Preferences (New York: de Gruyter, 1998), and Jan Narveson, “Moral Problems of Population,” The Monist 57 (1973).
See Gregory Kavka, “The Paradox of Future Individuals,” Philosophy and Public Affairs 11 (1982).
See R.I. Sikora, “Is It Wrong to Prevent the Existence of Future Generations?,” in R.I. Sikora and B. Barry, eds., Obligations to Future Generations (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1978). Also see Jeff McMahan, “Preferences, Death, and the Ethics of Killing,” in Christoph Fehige and Ulla Wessels, op. cit., Stuart Rachels, op. cit., and Michael Lockwood, “Singer on Killing and the Preference for Life,” Inquiry 22 (1979).
Peter Singer, “Possible Preferences,” in Christoph Fehige and Ulla Wessels, op. cit., p. 389.
Jeff McMahan, op. cit., p. 41.
I would like to thank Kenneth Richman, Neil Mehta, and Douglas Lee for their helpful comments on an early draft of this paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Elstein, D.J. The Asymmetry of Creating and Not Creating Life. J Value Inquiry 39, 49–59 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10790-006-7256-4
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10790-006-7256-4