Come to think of it. If I didn't go through that utter shitstorm when I was a kid, the "me" I am today would be a completely different man.
Ah! The famous "Nonidentity Problem".
If a person's existence is unavoidably flawed, then the agent's only alternatives to bringing that person into the flawed existence are to bring no one into existence at all or to bring a different person – a nonidentical but better off person – into existence in place of the person whose existence is flawed.
If you want, you could also read up on modal realism, which is a philosophical concept that proposes that all possible worlds are as real as this one. Meaning, in short, that the you that did not go through with it exists, is real, just not accessible to you. :D
Ah! The famous "Nonidentity Problem".
-http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nonidentity-problem/
Thanks for the link, /u/Zerei! Wasn't aware of the existence of that particular thing. I think I'll spend a little time reading up on it this weekend.
If you want, you could also read up on modal realism, which is a philosophical concept that proposes that all possible worlds are as real as this one. Meaning, in short, that the you that did not go through with it exists, is real, just not accessible to you. :D
It is a very interesting read that makes you ask yourself about a lot of things we take for granted. Have fun!