Full Idea
Being is better than not-being.
Gist of Idea
Being is better than not-being
Source
Aristotle (Coming-to-be and Passing-away (Gen/Corr) [c.335 BCE], 336b29)
Book Reference
Aristotle: 'The Basic Works of Aristotle', ed/tr. McKeon,Richard [Modern Library Classics 2001], p.527
A Reaction
[see also Metaphysics 1017a07 ff, says the note] This peculiar assumption is at the heart of the ontological argument. Is the existence of the plague bacterium, or of Satan, or of mass-murderers, superior?