tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post8052971913949610354..comments2023-10-14T09:40:06.690-05:00Comments on Jean Kazez: Is there a duty to adopt?Jean Kazezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00592593002719828153noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-16286977673801306702011-06-28T11:35:46.596-05:002011-06-28T11:35:46.596-05:00I brought up dating to make a point about intimacy...I brought up dating to make a point about intimacy, not to draw an "all things considered" analogy with adopting.<br /><br />Anyway, if you're right that a date is easier and more trivial, that wouldn't hurt the argument--it just means what I said about dating carries over "a fortiori" to adopting.Jean Kazezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06297159994901018071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-36111239144013561122011-06-28T10:48:56.928-05:002011-06-28T10:48:56.928-05:00Perhaps the analogy to dating is not so good.
A d...Perhaps the analogy to dating is not so good.<br /><br />A date, even one which ends intimately, lasts less than 24 hours.<br /><br />Raising a child, adopted or not, requires a commitment of time, money and energy for at least 18 years and many times for longer. <br /><br />Caring for a child is perhaps the most challenging and creative task that most people will face in their lives. <br s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-23051274112335789062011-06-28T10:47:59.295-05:002011-06-28T10:47:59.295-05:00Hmm...to make the argument a bit more sharply: no...Hmm...to make the argument a bit more sharply: nobody has to help people in developing countries by marrying them, so how could we have to help people by adopting them? The two things are different only in degree, not in kind. Marrying and adopting are not at all like giving money, which is what Singer constantly focuses on in his arguments. It's interesting that his focus is like that-Jean Kazezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06297159994901018071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-78938565921238337802011-06-28T10:21:07.253-05:002011-06-28T10:21:07.253-05:00Speaking for the ugly unattractive guys, I think w...Speaking for the ugly unattractive guys, I think women need to live up to their obligations to date us and make the world a better place. :) <br /><br />But seriously, I think there is something to the argument that we have to adopt. Maybe we don't have an obligation to form an intimate bond with anyone. But that goes with parenting. Not all parents create an intimate bond with their Waynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08627147979307495870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-10552149110587841162011-06-28T07:34:12.107-05:002011-06-28T07:34:12.107-05:00What I am thinking is that a "shallow pond&qu...What I am thinking is that a "shallow pond" argument can show that you must do all sorts of things for other people, but not "intimate" things--they're in a special category. You might have a duty to donate money and time to the orphanage, but it's another matter to have to love one of the babies--that's what's involved in adopting.<br /><br />I agree, the wayJean Kazezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06297159994901018071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-40746208642860076392011-06-28T01:25:21.097-05:002011-06-28T01:25:21.097-05:00This is like Singer's "shallow pond"...This is like Singer's "shallow pond" case for adoption. I'd like to know what he thinks, but I suspect he'd say that we do have an obligation.<br /><br />In addition I think adoption can be a win-win case (instead of a win-lose situation as in the pond). <br /><br />Your arguments rests completely on your moral intuitions, and in these kind of cases, they can be very ʭɼʝɮɔɺʆɲʎʁʬɳɫɚʅɶʬʧʎɲnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-11127648769559006712011-06-25T07:19:03.817-05:002011-06-25T07:19:03.817-05:00I wouldn't say genes really enter into it. If...I wouldn't say genes really enter into it. If you bear a child yourself (and not because you were raped), that causal connection puts you in a position of responsibility for the child. Bringing a kid home from an orphanage, after signing papers, does the same thing--you're responsible.<br /><br />The question is whether a person *must* do these things that create responsibility. Must Jean Kazezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06297159994901018071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-23233802424384350872011-06-25T04:05:04.280-05:002011-06-25T04:05:04.280-05:00You seem to be drawing a distinction between "...You seem to be drawing a distinction between "just any child" and "my child." Obviously, children aren't like pets, so a duty to develop an intimate relationship with one child rather than another can't be based on, say, cuteness. So I assume the only possible relevant difference between a duty to enter into an intimate relationship with one child rather than another Spencerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01066089293772059329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-45938528241344029162011-06-23T20:10:26.827-05:002011-06-23T20:10:26.827-05:00Elkly, Thank you for your comment. I really didn&#...Elkly, Thank you for your comment. I really didn't mean to say we can't develop an intimate relationship with an adopted child. In fact, I'm reading two books about the adoption experience right now, just to understand it better. One is by Scott Simon, who adopted two Chinese little girls. This book alone makes it very clear that intimacy, love, commitment, etc., are all possible Jean Kazezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06297159994901018071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-54046304360656207722011-06-23T19:25:45.462-05:002011-06-23T19:25:45.462-05:00Such an interesting post! I may be misreading your...Such an interesting post! I may be misreading your argument, but it seems to me like your argument rests on the assumption that a person can only develop the requisite intimate relationship with a natural child, and that a person cannot be required to develop an intimate relationship with a child who is not of their own makeup. But this in turn seems to depend on a somewhat essentializing elklyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12513720776894547288noreply@blogger.com