Is it our moral duty to voluntarily not breed?

**Original Poster** · 03-20-2014 01:32 AM

Originally Posted by Dannon Oneironaut

Well you folks give me hope.... Thank you!

I don't think that people are inherently the problem, but too many people using too much.
I often come across arguments such as "There is plenty of land we haven't used yet! We can cut down the last of the forest for farming our food! There is still wilderness out there we haven't raped for resources yet!" and honestly that argument only proves my point! Lol... Those are the people I wish weren't born... kind of being facetious and kind of being serious. I think that the animals should have rights to the land as well and we should share with them.

The suffering and happiness thing is interesting. Yes bringing a child into the world will bring them suffering because this world is crazy. Yet there is the potential for them to find happiness as well. But the amount of suffering available far outweighs the amount of happiness available.... But that isn't really what this debate is about, although it is interesting to think about. I like the idea of quality of life over quantity of life, as if we need to have as many people as possible in order that the most people as possible can experience happiness.

But thanks again folks, I am feeling more hopeful after reading these comments... Keep it up!

Suffering outweighs happiness and darkness out competes the lights in the night sky but you don't notice the darkness, you notice and cherish the light. No matter how few and few between the light is, it's there. And because it's there, it dominates the void. When I was traveling, I had the choice of focusing on the indifference and cruelty of the people I met, or focusing on the kindness. And sometimes acts of kindness were as few and far between as specks of light in the void of space, but they fueled me forward. Even the tiniest little acts of kindness, the tiniest drops of humanity and compassion, were enough to keep in connected with my indomitable spirit.

**mcwillis** · 05-06-2014 12:07 AM

Don't worry, John P. Holdren (senior advisor to President Barack Obama on science and technology) and his kooks already have a plan to exterminate you without you having to worry about this issue.

**Universal Mind** · 05-13-2014 04:38 AM

Breeding can cause misfortunes of nature.

**Mystycal** · 08-10-2014 02:26 PM

We aren't overpopulated yet. There's no reason to shout about overpopulation when no such thing exists on a global scale.
And some people seem to forget about wars. Personally I don't believe the Earth will ever get overpopulated - it'll just keep going in a civilization - war - ruins - civilization cycle. And even wars which do not result in complete devastation of society still kill millions of people. The last one of these that Europe really remembers is the Second World War, which was barely a lifetime ago. There will be more wars everywhere, and there's nothing John Lennon hippie types can do about it.
So humans will just keep on naturally culling their own numbers. It's fine. Meanwhile, it would be silly to miss out on the joys of having children.

**Shamanite** · 09-03-2014 04:31 PM

The children born as natives to western nations in Europe are actually the ones that can support a large population, so if you have a high IQ or successful you should be encouraged to breed. Those who are in jail, have a low IQ, or otherwise have bad genetics should not breed. We see sort of the reverse happening, which is why we have an "overpopulation" problem. Theres a woman with 8 children in Britain who is on welfare, and wants two more children so she can receive more welfare. You can obviously tell this is not the way a government should be. We should not be encourage people who leech off of welfare to leech even more off of the government. If you are defending this than you are utterly retarded and your government would collapse faster than queen latifah sitting on a hastily put together wooden chair.