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Good for them. I really dislike a lot of the cultural dogmas that exist (at least in the first world) about stuff like this. We have too many people on this pla
by brndnmtthws 9y ago
Good for them. I really dislike a lot of the cultural dogmas that exist (at least in the first world) about stuff like this. We have too many people on this planet already, and no you don't need to breed unless you and your partner are some sort genetic miracle. I think nurture is more important than nature, and if you really want to parent you're better off giving an underprivileged child an opportunity through adoption than breeding.
- dionidium 9y agoIt's remarkable that anyone could with a straight face say that the drive and desire for children is a "cultural dogma". In the nature vs. nurture debate, not everything is a tie.
- brndnmtthws 9y agoIt's strictly subjective.
- dionidium 9y agoNo, it's not. We don't just throw our hands in the air and say, "I guess we'll never know!" It's not a tie. There is evidence for one side or the other. And in this case, the evidence couldn't possibly be stronger for one particular side.
- brndnmtthws 9y agoI'm not convinced. Is there evidence that the parent/child bonding only occurs if you share DNA? My personal experience suggests otherwise, especially given that my mother was adopted.
- underbluewaters 9y agoThere are a lot of folks making this same argument. I studied evolutionary biology in University and can say confidently that you are on a lot shakier ground than you think. There is not necessarily an innate drive to make a traditional family. Sex, sure. Most people have a sex drive but what happens afterword need not be familial bliss, or even sticking around to raise the child at all. In fact there a lot of very successful strategies in nature to offload that work to the other parent or even fool unrelated adoptive parents.
- dionidium 9y agoThanks for responding! If you have some favorite sources that would help me learn more about this, please pass them along.
- burfog 9y agoEvolution can go quickly if the selection pressure is high. (example: done in under 24 hours if we shot everybody without blue eyes) Our environment has been drastically changed by birth control. Previously, a desire for sex was essentially equal to a desire for reproduction. Selection for one would select for the other, so they didn't need to be distinguished. So essentially we are now unfit for our environment. We will rapidly evolve to fit this new environment. People of the future will desire actual reproduction, not just sex.
- dmm 9y agoThis is kind of a weird comment. The author wasn't really complaining so much about the physical process of creating a child as much as the burdens and difficulties of raising a child, which would be the same or worse with an adopted child.
- brndnmtthws 9y agoThose are my thoughts, not the thoughts of the author. Edit: I should clarify, my 'good for them' comment was about how it's okay for people to have regrets about having children, even though it's culturally taboo. If more people acknowledge this, then perhaps fewer people will take on the burden.