tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post7153234040662934202..comments2023-10-14T09:40:06.690-05:00Comments on Jean Kazez: Why have children?Jean Kazezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00592593002719828153noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-7238795117321198732010-03-31T12:35:28.298-05:002010-03-31T12:35:28.298-05:00Linking with Nozick's dimensions of life (mean...Linking with Nozick's dimensions of life (meaning, value, importance, weight) I would say that having children gives our life meaning (we link ourselves to something that goes beyond us) and importance (our actions have strong effects on others). <br /><br />Having said that, I still see having kids, at best, as playing russian roulette with someone else's life. <br /><br />Life can be Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-47018069892875819142010-03-30T10:10:41.702-05:002010-03-30T10:10:41.702-05:00Option #1. I believe it makes sense for a couple t...Option #1. I believe it makes sense for a couple to have a child because maternal desire can be very strong -- something many women are almost embarassed to admit. I'm currently reading a book by Daphne de Marneffe -- "Maternal Desire: On Children, Love, and the Inner Life" in which she describes how a century ago it was women's sexual desires that were unspeakable, "todayMelissanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-40828827387534515272010-03-28T19:30:17.721-05:002010-03-28T19:30:17.721-05:00I think that people have kids to satisfy their own...I think that people have kids to satisfy their own needs based on my personal experiences; I've yet to actually meet a parent who expresses unselfish reasons for having their children. Admittedly I don't go around handing our questionnaires. I'm also somewhat biased since I think that everything we do is to satisfy our own perceived needs. We do what makes us feel good, and that may Edhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06399341362068645241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-30799272924999587012010-03-27T18:48:07.819-05:002010-03-27T18:48:07.819-05:00What makes sense as to have a child? All of the a...What makes sense as to have a child? All of the above. Some people have a innate drive (dare I say biological instinct) to reproduce. Without satisfying this, they feel incomplete. Others feel as if they can continue living on through the child, or that a family life simply makes them happy.<br /><br />Others think that it might benefit the child, since they find their life, on the whole, Waynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08627147979307495870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-31500806020573755172010-03-26T16:33:57.176-05:002010-03-26T16:33:57.176-05:00My mistake, but if there is one thing which peopl...My mistake, but if there is one thing which people do in life without reasoning about it, it's having children, not that they shouldn't think about it, but when<br />you're 24 and in love and "know" that you've met "the one", you don't do much serious reasoning. <br />As you say, people discover the good reasons with hindsight.s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-39050468470310900412010-03-26T15:49:29.372-05:002010-03-26T15:49:29.372-05:00Amos, You took my comment as a criticism but I did...Amos, You took my comment as a criticism but I didn't mean it that way. I'm just observing that, paradoxically, some of the best reasons to have children are ones a person can't appreciate until after they've made the decision.Jean Kazezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00592593002719828153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-72849899630470345572010-03-26T12:33:54.531-05:002010-03-26T12:33:54.531-05:00Jean: you asked "what makes sense as a reaso...Jean: you asked "what makes sense as a reason to have a child", not why did I have children. You are correct: my reasons comes from hindsight. However, you did not ask why I had children in the first place (a personal and somewhat confused matter), but what are good reasons to have children.s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-89361928145735894922010-03-26T12:10:32.594-05:002010-03-26T12:10:32.594-05:00Thanks for these answers, keep 'em coming.
...Thanks for these answers, keep 'em coming. <br /><br />Amos, Hmm. I wasn't thinking along those lines--thank you. Interesting questions--when we decide to have a child do we actually know that we're going to benefit in the ways you describe? I think maybe not. Possibly some of our best reasons to have children are ones we can only see with hindsight.<br /><br />Faust, I agree Jean Kazezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00592593002719828153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-51413455033181205172010-03-26T11:12:51.184-05:002010-03-26T11:12:51.184-05:00The two reasons people have children are
1) To b...The two reasons people have children are<br /><br />1) To benefit themselves. To satisfy some need of their own (they love kids and they want some of their own, they want to please the grandparents, they want to keep up with their siblings and friends, they want to fit in with social expectations, they want to shore up a shaky marriage, etc.) <br /><br />5) No reason necessary because it just Edhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06399341362068645241noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-76228179334474484242010-03-26T10:14:41.413-05:002010-03-26T10:14:41.413-05:00Well I think it's great that you are pursuing ...Well I think it's great that you are pursuing this topic, because its probably one of my 3 primary interests, philosophically speaking. I'm interested in it specifically in the context of the rights/lack of rights of the unborn, but I'm interested in that topic at least in part because I think it represents site of the shift from non-being into being of particular individuals. We drawFaustnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8310450667755637519.post-50855560318411687482010-03-26T09:55:13.390-05:002010-03-26T09:55:13.390-05:00To benefit myself. Why? Because a child is so...To benefit myself. Why? Because a child is someone with whom I can be stupid, who will understand me more deeply than I understand myself, with whom I can communicate better than with anyone else, with whom I can share more things than with anyone else. Raising a child is a lot of work, and if there were no benefit to me, I certainly would not have one.s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.com