It might not seem relevant on this forum, but I got to the question upon thinking all night about my death. I need to know opinions of wannabedeads like me.
What do you think? I guess it is.
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I was told recently by some jerk lady that I had a moral obligation not to procreate, can’t afford it and all. Which I think is probably wrong. Not that I feel any kind of obligation to make a child, I just want one. Really, this is one of the biggest reasons I’m still alive, I’d like to see what being a parent is like.
There are just medical issues, somewhat on my side and somewhat on my partners, that make having a child difficult. Even so we could try, we discussed it recently. Neither of us is in a good place mental or physical health wise to try for that. Then there’s financial issues. She wants to drop back to part time work, we can’t afford that. We aren’t in a good school district either… and a kid has a shocking effect of making people stay where-ever they are at that moment.
No it is a social construct. Nothing more wrong than procreation.
Who cares? If you want to procreate then you probably should, otherwise don’t -_-
It doesn’t really matter, nothing does. :/
I am genuinely puzzled at how anyone could arrive at the conclusion that procreation is a “moral obligation”. If anyone believes that, please explain.
Like Cause of Death said, it is a social construct, or at best a social obligation. But the same can be said for making your daddy proud by learning to throw a football. Nothing moral about that. You’re just doing what you’re told.
If it is, then all creatures are moral creatures, from roaches to kings. Seems like a common bond we all share. So I’m answering a resounding no.
Not a moral one. In fact, I’d say the opposite, not having children seems to be the moral option. However, evolutionarily speaking, not having children goes against our programming. Millions of mayflies would curse a decision not to mate and procreate.
Like CODS said. Even if her view was in error in a few specific cases, those exceptions are not worth the risks posed to the children in most cases.
“Procreation is a social construct at best”.
I would argue it’s not even that. Procreating isn’t a social construct even, it’s an instinct. Instincts aren’t any sort of obligation, least of all a moral one.
Good point. Also regarding instincts, the vast majority of natural instincts are selfish (self preservation) which is generally the opposite of morality, the idea of a collective good.
So really procreating can be lumped in the same class of survival traits as being territorial, violent, or even raping in order to ensure the survival of your genetic material.
The reason I arrived at a moralistic view of procreation is kind of personal and depends on individual context.
By bringing me into existence, my parents gave me a decent shot at success. Unlike many people on this site, life dealt a fair set of cards to me in the beginning. I was born healthy without any handicap, decent physical features, middle class background taking care of basic needs, given education, a loving (though slightly dysfunctional) family, a small group of good friends when I was younger. I was never seriously bullied, never sexually abused, never into hard drugs, not even porn.
And yet, I fucked it all up and now here I am, desperate to quit without making so much as a ripple in the river of time. All that was invested in sustaining me thus far will go waste, whereas the same resources would have helped a worthier person make something of his/her life.
Looking at it from a wider perspective, a long chain of endeavours and sacrifices by generations of my ancestors right back from the Early Man has trickled down to this point of relatively easy time in human history, where imbeciles like me have it all handed down on a platter.
So, my point is this – if I was given a fair chance at life by my predecessors, is it my moral burden to give someone next in line a similar opportunity as I was given? I feel like it is and I’m escaping that responsibility.
A point made by @heartlessviking makes me wonder though; if I’m not in a healthy mental, emotional and financial state, producing offspring might only add damaged individuals like myself to the world. But then again, is it ‘immoral’ of me not to try and unfuck my situation and give a fresh crop of healthy human beings a shot at life?
I don’t know. It’s too late to matter anyway.
It’s like saying because the folks behind me on the interstate want to go forward i have a moral obligation not to try and exit when my destination is not in that direction.