Personal Development for Smart People Forums - View Single Post - Are Kids Necessary? (prob. controversial)

Hsiang-Lin · 11-24-2006, 04:22 AM

Hi everyone,

I've been thinking lately: do we really need to have kids? Most people would prob. say yes and I never really questioned it myself before either. I just assumed it was something I would eventually do.

But why do most people want to have children? I think the most common answer is to preserve the family name, genetics, or legacy. I took that further and thought, "Why do we need to preserve such things if we can just adopt?" We can still preserve the family name and legacy through adoption. But some people may argue it's not a true bloodline. But is a bloodline all that important? And then I thought, "If everyone thinks kids are unnecessary, then we would have no Einsteins, Edisons, etc. and no great discoveries, inventions, and achievements."

But all these great achievements are indeed great WITHIN the context of the human species. But how are they great within the context of other species? I'm sure a lot of animals and other species in the rainforests don't take too kindly to our intrusion on their environment. Then I got to thinking, "Is there really some higher reason for purporting the human species rather than other species?" Why do we deserve to live on while other animal species must live under our control or dictations?

Also, problems such as world hunger and competition I think to a high degree are affected by the individual's need and hunger to survive and replicate. Without kids, we would no longer have the problem of overpopulation, world hunger, and limited resources. Ultimately, we may just simply die out as a species. Now is that REALLY that bad? I mean this seriously.

I'm not here to instigate controvery or anything, but it is something that I've thought seriously about and would like to get more perspectives. What I learn I know will play a big part in whether I have kids or not

Thanks for reading!

11-24-2006, 04:22 AM	#1 (permalink)
Hsiang-Lin Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 261	Are Kids Necessary? (prob. controversial) Hi everyone, I've been thinking lately: do we really need to have kids? Most people would prob. say yes and I never really questioned it myself before either. I just assumed it was something I would eventually do. But why do most people want to have children? I think the most common answer is to preserve the family name, genetics, or legacy. I took that further and thought, "Why do we need to preserve such things if we can just adopt?" We can still preserve the family name and legacy through adoption. But some people may argue it's not a true bloodline. But is a bloodline all that important? And then I thought, "If everyone thinks kids are unnecessary, then we would have no Einsteins, Edisons, etc. and no great discoveries, inventions, and achievements." But all these great achievements are indeed great WITHIN the context of the human species. But how are they great within the context of other species? I'm sure a lot of animals and other species in the rainforests don't take too kindly to our intrusion on their environment. Then I got to thinking, "Is there really some higher reason for purporting the human species rather than other species?" Why do we deserve to live on while other animal species must live under our control or dictations? Also, problems such as world hunger and competition I think to a high degree are affected by the individual's need and hunger to survive and replicate. Without kids, we would no longer have the problem of overpopulation, world hunger, and limited resources. Ultimately, we may just simply die out as a species. Now is that REALLY that bad? I mean this seriously. I'm not here to instigate controvery or anything, but it is something that I've thought seriously about and would like to get more perspectives. What I learn I know will play a big part in whether I have kids or not Thanks for reading!