Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

0

4 (6.1%)

1

10 (15.2%)

2

28 (42.4%)

3

11 (16.7%)

4

0 (0%)

5

0 (0%)

6

0 (0%)

7

0 (0%)

8

0 (0%)

9

0 (0%)

10+

3 (4.5%)

Next level polygamy

10 (15.2%)

Total Members Voted: 65

[Neonivek]

Yeah here is kind of the thing...

As you become more poor you use less resources

As you become rich you use more resources

A two person household that has one child uses more resources then a 10 person household with 8 children... typically

Anyhow Captain Planet has had TWO episodes on this topic alone... I shall find exactly what episodes they were.

[Catmeat]

I wonder how many resources Captain Planet uses to keep that mullet so greasy.
Im sure its his source of power and flight. Like a Giants beard or alcoholics drink.
Ahh such nostalgia

[Radio Controlled]

Well, seeing as how no ethical framework was provided to work in, and I don't feel like fully typing out my own view/situation right now, I'll just add a small caveat: even if one assumes that having children is ethical (in ways beyond fulfilling your own biological imperative), there is still the problem of opportunity cost. If you think having children is good because it furthers some sort of goal you think is positive (eg. "continuing my culture's heritage"), then there is still the possibility that other actions would do more towards achieving that goal. After all, all the time, effort and money poured into having and raising your own children isn't going toward something else.

So, to keep with the example, what if becoming a great teacher or social worker (and really expending all your assets and time towards it) would do more towards conserving your culture's heritage than just raising your own kids? After all, a teacher could inspire many more children than you could possibly have yourself. Mind, 'perfect' is the enemy of 'good', but still. I suspect there is a chance that some of the reasons people give are more like post-hoc explanations to justify following their instinct.

As long as your reason for having children isn't something like "to specifically raise my own genetic offspring", which is basically just following your biological instincts (which isn't automatically bad), you have to wonder if there aren't better alternatives toward that goal (and even then, adoption could fulfill the need of raising a kid, while donating sperm/egg cells to a fertility bank could help ensure to continue your genetic lineage).

[Cthulhu]

Teaching isn't something everyone can do.  I've taught.  If you want to be the teacher you're describing it's an everything commitment.  I suppose raising kids is too though.

Continuing genetic lineage is part of it but raising good people is part of it too.  If anything sperm bank would be bad if we're talking about the opportunity costs of increasing the population, since you can't control how many kids you'll have.

It also makes it hard to ensure your kids are being raised to improve things instead of make them worse.  See:  A single mother the single worst statistical predictor of childhood outcomes.

[tonnot98]

I feel that, if you can support it, 3 children would be optimal, because there would be an eldest to lead by example, a middle to learn from and rival the eldest, and the youngest to learn from the two older siblings and be protected by all.