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Should humans stop reproducing??

Don71 5 July 18
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Not very likely to happen. But I would very much like to see humans think more first - BEFORE creating babies. Why not just endlessly "practice" ? Cut way back ? Skip it altogether ?

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I suggest making vasectomy commonplace among teen boys. Have insurance pay for it. Freeze sperm for later use. Take the decision out of irresponsible Friday night's with beer being the decider.

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I think most people aren't nearly mindful enough about reproducing; they simply succumb to the primal urge with little to no respect for the life they are bringing into the world, their ability / maturity to properly nurture it, etc. I advocate for people to be more deliberate and better-prepared about that.

One of the most difficult aspects of life, to me, is that it's very hard for most people to take their time around mating and reproduction; it's one of the major areas where our natural inclinations are way out of phase with the modern world.

That said, I don't buy the argument of antinatalists that it's somehow immoral, either. By that logic, it's immoral to do anything that has more than a zero percent chance of resulting in suffering, which is just a roundabout way of saying it's immoral to do anything at all. This isn't even nihilism -- it gives nihilism a bad name. It is also hyper-idealistic and I've learned to be very suspicious of idealism. I am an idealist who grew up in the hyper-idealistic world of Christian fundamentalism. Let's just say I've found it's maladaptive, dysfunctional, and ultimately toxic.

Life isn't what we wish it was -- it's what it is. In all its messiness and imperfection.

I have seen a lot I'd rather not have seen, and lost a lot in life (including a child), but it has never occurred to me that my parents should not have brought me into existence. I'm willing to admit that marriage and parenthood have been underwhelming compared to their advance billing for me at least, but I do not fault myself for engaging in them either.

On the one hand, to pick a random example, my stepson suffers from OCD and anxiety issues, and has had some resultant struggles. It took him 7 years to finish his undergrad degree and he has needed a lot of extra support and encouragement. But it is unthinkable to me that he should never have been born. I love him like my own, he has tremendous personal integrity and honor, a razor-sharp mind, and it's a privilege to mentor him. He's going to make an incredible father and husband, if he decides to go that route. And he's a natural at his chosen role in academia. It's all good. Imperfect, but good.

In fact one of the main things I try to get through is head is that the perfect is often the enemy of the good. He's a perfectionist. He's hard on himself. He's upset that he's not moved along in life and accomplished certain things by now when in fact there IS no set timetable for all comers. He's doing fine. He still has plenty of time. He's better off taking his time. I'm trying to teach him to relax into that and be okay with it.

I think it all boils down to accepting life, warts and all.

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Sounds like a good idea at least for a while. I cannot stand it when I see in a magazine or TV a family that has 12 + more children. I get mad, what are they thinking, is there not enough of people in this world also the older children bring up the younger ones, it is not fair on the children, the parents don't and can give each child the emotional time that each one needs and deserves.

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