• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!
  • Welcome to our archives. No new posts are allowed here.

Why Do We Procreate?

Dragonfly

DP Veteran
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Messages
30,888
Reaction score
19,291
Location
East Coast - USA
Gender
Undisclosed
Political Leaning
Centrist
Is there some inherent instinct to multiply?

Why do we have kids? And why so many?

There is no possible chance that humanity will go extinct. The population is expanding.

So what is it that drive us to have children?

It just seems like it's something we're "supposed" to do.

It's part of life.

But why?

Are people who don't have children somehow deficient?

Is breeding one of our very few instincts?
 
Why Do We Procreate?

Because accidents happen (and I need somebody to feed me when I am old and feeble) :mrgreen:
 
Is there some inherent instinct to multiply?

Why do we have kids? And why so many?

There is no possible chance that humanity will go extinct. The population is expanding.

So what is it that drive us to have children?

It just seems like it's something we're "supposed" to do.

It's part of life.

But why?

Are people who don't have children somehow deficient?

Is breeding one of our very few instincts?

Define "so many"??? I have a son who was adopted and a girl. I don't know if it was an urge to procreate... I just knew at the time, we wanted a family.

It's a long story that I'll save for another time when I have an actual computer to post from.
 
Is there some inherent instinct to multiply?

Why do we have kids? And why so many?

There is no possible chance that humanity will go extinct. The population is expanding.

So what is it that drive us to have children?

It just seems like it's something we're "supposed" to do.

It's part of life.

But why?

Are people who don't have children somehow deficient?

Is breeding one of our very few instincts?


Mostly we are NOT having "so many" children. Native Western Europeans are actually at a negative birth rate... fewer births than deaths. America would be almost as bad without immigration.


Carrying on the species is fundamental to all life, biologically. Propagating their own genetic line is one of the most powerful drives of most animals.

Socially it is the norm because if it wasn't there would soon be no humans to have norms.

Personally? I think being a parent is the single most difficult and fulfilling thing I've ever done... and I've done a lot.
 
Is there some inherent instinct to multiply?

Why do we have kids? And why so many?

There is no possible chance that humanity will go extinct. The population is expanding.

So what is it that drive us to have children?

It just seems like it's something we're "supposed" to do.

It's part of life.

But why?

Are people who don't have children somehow deficient?

Is breeding one of our very few instincts?

The instinct to breed probably ranks #2, I'd guess -- right below not starving to death and dying of dehydration. The drive is VERY strong because, of course, without procreating, we never would survive.

Duh. Ha! Okay, now that that's out of the way . . . in famine, pestilence, sickness, disease, war, you name it, our sexual drive reigns supreme. If we were "take it or leave it?" We'd have disappeared eons ago.
 
Is there some inherent instinct to multiply?

Why do we have kids? And why so many?

There is no possible chance that humanity will go extinct. The population is expanding.

So what is it that drive us to have children?

It just seems like it's something we're "supposed" to do.

It's part of life.

But why?

Are people who don't have children somehow deficient?

Is breeding one of our very few instincts?

somehow we were programmed to multiply during our evolutional process :lol:

thats why we want to have children although it is hard to raise them
 
This is simple evolution. Those that procreated had their genes carried on. Those that didn't have offspring, had their genes disappear.
 
This is simple evolution. Those that procreated had their genes carried on. Those that didn't have offspring, had their genes disappear.
I choose number 2.
 
Is there some inherent instinct to multiply?

Why do we have kids? And why so many?

There is no possible chance that humanity will go extinct. The population is expanding.

So what is it that drive us to have children?

It just seems like it's something we're "supposed" to do.

It's part of life.

But why?

Are people who don't have children somehow deficient?

Is breeding one of our very few instincts?

Instinct.
 
LARGE%20PHOTOS_ALCOHOL.jpg
 
Is there some inherent instinct to multiply?

Why do we have kids? And why so many?

There is no possible chance that humanity will go extinct. The population is expanding.

So what is it that drive us to have children?

It just seems like it's something we're "supposed" to do.

It's part of life.

But why?

Are people who don't have children somehow deficient?

Is breeding one of our very few instincts?

I'll sort it out for you quickly: yes, we have a genetic imperative to multiply. Your genes use you, the human, as the means by which they will multiply in another creation. That's all your genes care about, survive through multiplication. genetics can also impact on why you find people desirable or undesirable. subconciously, they dictate that if an offspring would result from your union with another, how many of the offsprings genes will be the "right" copies and how many are contested.

Also, developed countries have a low birthrate because we put more emphasis on the quality of life than the quantity of life. If you look at the world, it's the ME and Africa that are in the top of birthrates because they either don't care or don't know what quality of life is, the same way we do.
 
Okay, I'll admit my OP might have been influenced by a tiny bit of alcohol. A wee bit. Some.

At any rate. Seems we're somewhat programmed aren't we?

1) go to school
2) grow up
3) become adults
4) find a mate
5) get married
6) buy a house
7) start a family
8) grow old
9) retire
10) die

Repeat cycle with every generation with no questions asked.

It's almost so ingrained into our culture that we don't ever question it.

Is giving birth something that's a much stronger urge in women? I'm pretty sure if my wife had not "wanted children" that I'd have been fine with that. I did put the cap on kids at two. She'd have had three if I hadn't gotten snipped.

Is it purely biological instinct, genetic code, or does societal norms and culture play a stronger role?

Is there a cultural expectation to follow a specific path in life, and that path includes making babies?
 
Is there some inherent instinct to multiply?

Why do we have kids? And why so many?

There is no possible chance that humanity will go extinct. The population is expanding.

So what is it that drive us to have children?

It just seems like it's something we're "supposed" to do.

It's part of life.

But why?

Are people who don't have children somehow deficient?

Is breeding one of our very few instincts?

In my experience...

Accidents.

Feelings of obligation.

Simple desire for children.

Fear of being alone in old age.

Social display.

That covers pretty much everything I've ever heard of.

People don't really have an "instinct to breed," so much. We don't really need one. We have a desire for sex, and complex societies capable of influencing the behavior of most people. That's enough to keep most people reproducing.

In fact, the level of "nurturing" of parents varies considerably across cultures. People who either live in very poor cultures, or in very primitive ones where too much reproduction would collapse the tribe, tend to be very stoic and tactical about reproducing. They don't see all reproduction as good, the way those of us from richer countries tend to.

I think for the majority of people, they don't put a lot of thought into it. They just sort of assume from an early age that they will have children, because society presents it as an inevitable consequence of adulthood, and they simply never had a reason to question that. This is somewhat bolstered by the fact that about half of people become parents by accident. I've met a lot of people who talk about having kids with a sort of nonchalant resignation, and when I ask them why they assume they'll have kids when they sound so unenthusiastic about it, they just say, "Well, everyone has kids."

Some people do really pine for children. They often work in child-centered professions until then, or after. They're just good with kids, "get" kids, and want kids. In my experience, a lot of these people either help kids not their own, or adopt kids in addition to having their own. They tend to produce their own, simply because it's kind of the easiest way to do it. But they're more likely to adopt, because they just inherently value kids, rather than doing it being it's just "what you do." Perhaps these kinds of people have the closest thing that exists to an "instinct" to reproduce, or at least an instinct to contribute to children.

And for a minority of people, it's almost kind of a nerosis: people who pin all of their self-worth on being parents, like a sort of status symbol. These are the people who just marry the first healthy person they meet, or have a complete break down if they haven't reproduced by a certain age, or spend themselves into $50,000 of debt and eat rice every day because of treatments trying to force their misfiring reproductive organs to work, rather than adopting (and somehow still think they'll be able to afford the kid if they ever succeed). People who care more about the status of "parent" than they do about what kind of parent they're going to be. These are the ones I get the least.

Personally, none of these reasons have ever been very compelling to me. I get much more gushy over kittens than babies. Perhaps I'm just missing that wire.

Since I don't have much of an emotional reaction to the idea of having kids, I think about it in a pretty technical way. And there's really nothing about the lifestyle of being a parent that appeals to me in the least.
 
Last edited:
Is giving birth something that's a much stronger urge in women? I'm pretty sure if my wife had not "wanted children" that I'd have been fine with that. I did put the cap on kids at two. She'd have had three if I hadn't gotten snipped.

No. There has been research to this effect, which is confirmed by my own experiences: women just get much more badgered to reproduce by society than men do.

Because they have so much more pressure, women tend to have more stubborn opinions, whether they want children are not. A lot of men are kind of "in the middle" somewhere, or simply let their partner dictate whether they have kids. Because they haven't been repeated beat over the head with it all their lives, men just don't think about it as much.
 
Aye - we don't have kids because we're scared that humans will someday become extinct.

We seem to have kids because society tells us to.

We've been manipulated and brainwashed into it.
 
Aye - we don't have kids because we're scared that humans will someday become extinct.

We seem to have kids because society tells us to.

We've been manipulated and brainwashed into it.

Yeah, for a lot of people. And I think the reason we hear this "but if you don't breed we'll go extinct!" thing so much is kind of connected to that.

With the ones who pound their fist the most about how "selfish" it is to not have kids and how we're all going to die out just because a minority of the population isn't reproducing, you'll notice something if you read a little more carefully.

They tend to be the same people who had kids just because it's "what you do," and may not necessarily be all that happy about it.

On the other hand, parents who love the path they've chosen tend to leave everyone else the hell alone. Funny how that works.
 
Okay, I'll admit my OP might have been influenced by a tiny bit of alcohol. A wee bit. Some.

At any rate. Seems we're somewhat programmed aren't we?

1) go to school
2) grow up
3) become adults
4) find a mate
5) get married
6) buy a house
7) start a family
8) grow old
9) retire
10) die

Repeat cycle with every generation with no questions asked.

It's almost so ingrained into our culture that we don't ever question it.

Is giving birth something that's a much stronger urge in women? I'm pretty sure if my wife had not "wanted children" that I'd have been fine with that. I did put the cap on kids at two. She'd have had three if I hadn't gotten snipped.

Is it purely biological instinct, genetic code, or does societal norms and culture play a stronger role?

Is there a cultural expectation to follow a specific path in life, and that path includes making babies?

1. is to get a job and be able to navigate in the modern world.
2. is genetic
3. genetic as well depending on how you define adult, but also being smarter, leraning more stuff and becoming more mature
4. sex drive and desire for love and affection.
5. desire for a secure relationship
6. Economic security ... generally.
7. Desire to create life and have a stamp on the world.
8. nature.
9. Better than working in pain.
10. Nature.

Some people follow other paths with less or more happiness ... but the desire for love, sharing, security and a legacy drives many of these things.
 
7. Desire to create life and have a stamp on the world.

(not specific to RGacky3 - but collectively asking...)

Leave a stamp on the world??????

What?

What is that crap?

I think that's the brainwashing part of it.

Desire to create a life??? Really???

That's all mumbo-jumbo that's been repeatedly beat into our psyche for so many generations it's not questioned anymore.

Isn't it?

This is the 21st century. Nobody gives a rat's buttocks who your grandpappy was or what your family lineage is.
Your "name" don't mean diddly.
 
(not specific to RGacky3 - but collectively asking...)

Leave a stamp on the world??????

What?

What is that crap?

I think that's the brainwashing part of it.

Desire to create a life??? Really???

That's all mumbo-jumbo that's been repeatedly beat into our psyche for so many generations it's not questioned anymore.

Isn't it?

This is the 21st century. Nobody gives a rat's buttocks who your grandpappy was or what your family lineage is.
Your "name" don't mean diddly.

A stamp on the world means a legacy, if someone has a kid, dies, he can die feeling like he's made a contribution that matters for a future life and that his offspring can continue to add to the world.

Desire to create life ... yeah ... it hasn't been beaten into our psyche, it's not like having kids is unique to any culture its universal, everyone does it, every society does it, also what is there to question? If you don't want kids don't have kids, no one gives a ****, but other people do.

Yes it's the 21st century, and yes people don't give a rats buttocks about my grandfather or whatever, but I care who my father was, and my father cares who I am, and I hope your father cares who you are and you care who your father is .... It has nothing to do with "name."

Or maybe it's just love, the desire to love ... if you don't want that, then don't do it, but I don't see what your problem is.
 
I'll sort it out for you quickly: yes, we have a genetic imperative to multiply. Your genes use you, the human, as the means by which they will multiply in another creation. That's all your genes care about, survive through multiplication. genetics can also impact on why you find people desirable or undesirable. subconciously, they dictate that if an offspring would result from your union with another, how many of the offsprings genes will be the "right" copies and how many are contested.

Also, developed countries have a low birthrate because we put more emphasis on the quality of life than the quantity of life. If you look at the world, it's the ME and Africa that are in the top of birthrates because they either don't care or don't know what quality of life is, the same way we do.

which countries are they ,rainman ? teh western countries ?

l know you always want to seperate this world into two parts but at least be reasonable while doing it
 
which countries are they ,rainman ? teh western countries ?

l know you always want to seperate this world into two parts but at least be reasonable while doing it

Yes medusa, developed countries are the western countries + a few more.
 
Also, developed countries have a low birthrate because we put more emphasis on the quality of life than the quantity of life. If you look at the world, it's the ME and Africa that are in the top of birthrates because they either don't care or don't know what quality of life is, the same way we do.

That's nonsense, the reason third world countries tend to have more children is because they don't have public pensions and your children ARE your retirement, if you have kids that can provide for you later on in life, you'll have a higher quality of life, and your children will have a larger social network to rely on, it has nothing to do with people in third world countries just being dumber and not knowing what quality of life is ...

All it takes is a couple minutes of thinking and logic to realize that this kind of racism you're spouting is nonsense.
 
That's nonsense, the reason third world countries tend to have more children is because they don't have public pensions and your children ARE your retirement, if you have kids that can provide for you later on in life, you'll have a higher quality of life, and your children will have a larger social network to rely on, it has nothing to do with people in third world countries just being dumber and not knowing what quality of life is ...

All it takes is a couple minutes of thinking and logic to realize that this kind of racism you're spouting is nonsense.

That may be a factor but the fact is as always, undeveloped countries have always had higher birthrates. There is a plethora or reasons, including the fact that there is less concern about quality of life then we have in developed countries. I won't have more kids than I can afford to give a good life, send to good schools maybe help them have a place of their own once they grow up. This concern is not widespread in the underveloped countries. As it is not widespread in the less educated with lower expectations in developed countries.

Education breeds higher standards and higher expectations.

You are however, clearly not among those who belong to this esteemed group.

Also, islamist countries with powerful radical groups demand high fertility from women to have more soldiers in their jihad.
 
That may be a factor but the fact is as always, undeveloped countries have always had higher birthrates. There is a plethora or reasons, including the fact that there is less concern about quality of life then we have in developed countries. I won't have more kids than I can afford to give a good life, send to good schools maybe help them have a place of their own once they grow up. This concern is not widespread in the underveloped countries. As it is not widespread in the less educated with lower expectations in developed countries.

Education breeds higher standards and higher expectations.

You are however, clearly not among those who belong to this esteemed group.

Also, islamist countries with powerful radical groups demand high fertility from women to have more soldiers in their jihad.

Prior to the postwar wealth in europe, and the social democratic reforms, european families had a huge number of children ... for the same reason.

In lower developed countries having more kids MEANS having a better life for them and yourself, it means more can work in the village farms, it means more can contribute to the household, forget good schools these families are thinking about food.

Education breeds higher economic security, meaning having more kids doesn't help, since you arn't relying on people physically working for food, or a pension plan. In a 3rd world village having less kids means you'll be more hungry the less you are able to work.

As far as the islamist nonsense, there is NO evidence for that, and amung the countries with the highest fertility rates few are islamic ... what they have in common is desperate poverty, lack of inudstrialization, and lack of education.

The lack of education contributes not because people are simply dumber and have less of a desire for a decent life .... the lack of education means lack of economic opportunities.

You're racism and ignorance here is bleeding through it's obvious.
 
Back
Top Bottom