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I know this is going to be a hugely unpopular opinion, but life has no purpose if it was not for offspring. To me not wanting children gives me the same vibes a

I know this is going to be a hugely unpopular opinion, but life has no purpose if it was not for offspring. To me not wanting children gives me the same vibes as someone playing a sport or entering a competition and then not giving their absolute everything to win Gold.

raesene9 4y ago
would it not be easier to say "life has no purpose for you"? People are varied and have varying motivations, what's important to one is not necessarily important to another.
- johnea 4y ago
  One small spark of reality is voiced in this comment ^^ Life HAS NO MEANING Who ever started this idea that growing out of the slime mould on some obscure planet implies "meaning". WTF is "meaning' anyway? Isn't this just another way of asking "How does all of this affect me?" The incredible level of a self centered view of the universe is one of the human primate's most distinguishing features... BTW, I have one son, in his 20s. It's been both fulfilling and excruciating. I'm happy he was born, and I love him very much.
skinnymuch 4y ago
Do you think this applies to others too? Some people do sports or competitions for fun. Winning is overrated.
AnIdiotOnTheNet 4y ago
There's no "winning" life. We're all going to die, the sun will expand to engulf the earth, and the universe has several possible endings but it ending is something physicists are pretty confident about. There's no such thing as forever, not for you, not for your genetic lineage, not for anyone or anything. So there's no clear way that having offspring is any more purposeful than anything else. My father was a lot like you when it came to pushing the "giving everything to win" mindset. It fucked me up for life because it made it very difficult for me to relax and enjoy things for the sake of them.
jlokier 4y ago
Most people play sport to enjoy the game, not to become champions at it. What about having offspring gives life purpose? Do you just beget children to... help them grow up to beget more children so they can... help their children to beget more children so... That doesn't sound (or vibe) purposeful to me. That description is obviously missing something essential. If life has a purpose (or feeling/vibe of one) there must be something else than merely having offspring to propagate the species for its own sake. Whatever that something else is, it seems obvious to me that it is not conditional on your own offspring specifically. For example if you love children in person, there are a lot of orphans who would like soneone to raise them. And plenty of teaching and medicine to do. If you love children more generally, there's plenty of science, entertainment, ending hunger, looking after the planet etc which lots of children really appreciate. They find that stuff purposeful, and that feels to me like that counts for a lot. You do you, but you see where I'm coming from.
- dustedcodes 4y ago
  Life is very basic at its core. The purpose of all life is survival. Offspring is paramount for survival.
  - fsflover 4y ago
    When there are too many people on Earth to support a sustainable live for humanity, not having kids is the paramount for survival. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33879397 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33879397
    - frumper 4y ago
      It's my job to teach my kids well enough to get them into a position to survive. The Earth is huge.
      - fsflover 4y ago
        I was talking about the survival of humanity.
achenet 4y ago
correction: life has no purpose, EVEN IF you have offspring. A self replicating machine doesn't have a purpose behind its actions, it just does them.
- johnea 4y ago
  Thank you achenet! Maybe everyone should watch the Steve Martin movie "The Jerk". He searches for his "purpose". SPOILER: It turns out to be his dick 8-)
the_only_law 4y ago
> To me not wanting children gives me the same vibes as someone playing a sport or entering a competition and then not giving their absolute everything to win Gold God forbid someone tried a sport to help get in shape or to enjoy themselves
gilbetron 4y ago
I have a son, and he's awesome and I can't imagine life without him, nor would I want to experience life without him, but I find the propagation of our species the least interesting purpose of life. If nothing is done during that life except propagate, then nothing is happening of interest, just people hedonistically living. What is done with your life is the most important purpose, otherwise we are just cycling around to no end.
Kye 4y ago
All the things that give me purpose in life would be impossible or unreasonably complicated with kids.

raesene9 4y ago

would it not be easier to say "life has no purpose for you"? People are varied and have varying motivations, what's important to one is not necessarily important to another.

johnea 4y ago
One small spark of reality is voiced in this comment ^^ Life HAS NO MEANING Who ever started this idea that growing out of the slime mould on some obscure planet implies "meaning". WTF is "meaning' anyway? Isn't this just another way of asking "How does all of this affect me?" The incredible level of a self centered view of the universe is one of the human primate's most distinguishing features... BTW, I have one son, in his 20s. It's been both fulfilling and excruciating. I'm happy he was born, and I love him very much.

skinnymuch 4y ago

Do you think this applies to others too? Some people do sports or competitions for fun. Winning is overrated.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 4y ago

There's no "winning" life. We're all going to die, the sun will expand to engulf the earth, and the universe has several possible endings but it ending is something physicists are pretty confident about. There's no such thing as forever, not for you, not for your genetic lineage, not for anyone or anything. So there's no clear way that having offspring is any more purposeful than anything else. My father was a lot like you when it came to pushing the "giving everything to win" mindset. It fucked me up for life because it made it very difficult for me to relax and enjoy things for the sake of them.

jlokier 4y ago

Most people play sport to enjoy the game, not to become champions at it. What about having offspring gives life purpose? Do you just beget children to... help them grow up to beget more children so they can... help their children to beget more children so... That doesn't sound (or vibe) purposeful to me. That description is obviously missing something essential. If life has a purpose (or feeling/vibe of one) there must be something else than merely having offspring to propagate the species for its own sake. Whatever that something else is, it seems obvious to me that it is not conditional on your own offspring specifically. For example if you love children in person, there are a lot of orphans who would like soneone to raise them. And plenty of teaching and medicine to do. If you love children more generally, there's plenty of science, entertainment, ending hunger, looking after the planet etc which lots of children really appreciate. They find that stuff purposeful, and that feels to me like that counts for a lot. You do you, but you see where I'm coming from.

dustedcodes 4y ago
Life is very basic at its core. The purpose of all life is survival. Offspring is paramount for survival.
- fsflover 4y ago
  When there are too many people on Earth to support a sustainable live for humanity, not having kids is the paramount for survival. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33879397 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33879397
  - frumper 4y ago
    It's my job to teach my kids well enough to get them into a position to survive. The Earth is huge.
    - fsflover 4y ago
      I was talking about the survival of humanity.

achenet 4y ago

correction: life has no purpose, EVEN IF you have offspring. A self replicating machine doesn't have a purpose behind its actions, it just does them.

johnea 4y ago
Thank you achenet! Maybe everyone should watch the Steve Martin movie "The Jerk". He searches for his "purpose". SPOILER: It turns out to be his dick 8-)

the_only_law 4y ago

> To me not wanting children gives me the same vibes as someone playing a sport or entering a competition and then not giving their absolute everything to win Gold God forbid someone tried a sport to help get in shape or to enjoy themselves

gilbetron 4y ago

I have a son, and he's awesome and I can't imagine life without him, nor would I want to experience life without him, but I find the propagation of our species the least interesting purpose of life. If nothing is done during that life except propagate, then nothing is happening of interest, just people hedonistically living. What is done with your life is the most important purpose, otherwise we are just cycling around to no end.

Kye 4y ago

All the things that give me purpose in life would be impossible or unreasonably complicated with kids.