Human suffering can be ended with the elimination of the human race

"Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact." – William James. I am in agreement with American philosopher William James because regardless of how terrible things may be, life is always worth living. Regardless of whether or not pain is present, life is still important and it is a privilege to be alive. Pain is only temporary, death is permanent. It for these reasons and those that follow that I am compelled to negate today's resolution, RESOLVED: Human suffering can be ended with the elimination of the human race. For clarification of today's round I will offer the following definitions: Suffering- the pain, misery, or loss experienced by a person who suffers Elimination-the act of removing or getting rid of something Human Race- all of the living human inhabitants of the earth Contention 1: Elimination of the human race is not justifiable by human suffering. Considering the Pro's primary goal is to put an end to suffering, I'd like to address the fact that my opponent has chosen a contradictory method to do so. My opponent is suggesting putting an end to human suffering by eliminating the entire human race, which can only be done in a way that would cause people to suffer not only physically but emotionally as well. Also, if it is my opponent's intention to put an end to human suffering, by eliminating an entire human race, they have in effect put an end to not only the negative aspects of life, but the positive things in life as well. This is a direct contradiction of everything the opponent should value. As the pro, my opponents primary objective is to put an end to human suffering, defined as pain or misery, which clearly suggests that human beings should not have to feel anything of the sort, leaving everything other than happiness out of the question. Contention 2: There are other forms of suffering occurring. While eliminating the human race may put an end to human suffering, and any other human emotion for that matter, it would only cause conflict in the world. For example, in today's society we have zoos, aquariums, etc. By eliminating the entire human race my opponent would only be inducing more suffering upon the other inhabitants of the earth. The animals in zoos, aquariums, etc. rely heavily upon the human beings to regulate their artificial environment. In fact, there are large numbers of endangered species in zoos and by killing human beings, the endangered species would eventually die off as well. Seeing as animals in captivity cannot provide for themselves, humans are almost essential on the earth. Contention 3: Not all human suffering is negative. Today human suffering has a negative connotation and is viewed as hurtful. That is not always the case. For example, during pregnancies women suffer for 9 months, and although they are hurting they are doing something positive for society by contributing another member. Giving birth causes immense amounts of suffering, but when it is over something positive has happened. Therefore I must disagree that all suffering is negative. Contention 4: The world is reliant on human beings to protect it. While human beings have had a negative impact on the environment, they have also done positive things for it as well. Today we have environmental protection groups and agencies that do everything in their power to protect the environment. Without human beings to protect the environment, nature would destroy itself thus causing ruin on earth. Rebuttal: My opponent claims that the primary goal at hand is to put an end to suffering. By that logic, they are contradicting themselves. They are creating a greater amount of suffering and that suffering will be the only feeling the human race will have ever experienced. In other words, what is the point of destroying the entire human race in an attempt to put an end to suffering? No one would be alive to experience the lack of human suffering, thus making my opponent's goal pointless. Also, the resolution can be achieved in other ways such as helping those in suffering, not causing them to suffer more. Therefore I do not believe that ending the human race is the best way to end human suffering.