Re:'I’m not having children because I want to save the planet'
by cornholio on Wednesday April 11, 2018 @07:25AM
(#16810016)
It's essentially the same instinct that pushes you to have 12 children and clear a large swath of forest to create arable land to feed them. There is nothing superior about your children, and chances are you will find an underprivileged child you can support that is much smarter than the average offspring you could produce (not that it should matter).
Re:'I’m not having children because I want to save the planet'
by shubb on Wednesday April 11, 2018 @07:36AM
(#16810075)
Genes can be selfish without the individuals who carry them being selfish. Because genes are carried by a group, and the survival of the group means that the gene will survive, so self sacrificing behaviur can be selected for.
That isn't to say that people don't instinctively care for their own children. Although maybe there may be no such instinct and we are just taught from birth to do so by our own parents behaviur - which some may not learn. Maybe. A lot of things seem to be a mixture of nature and nurture I guess.
Just that, it is possible for behaviurs like the one we are discussing to be selected for.
it's not right or wrong, it's just an instinct that has been selected through evolution because apparently it favours carriers of such genes to outnumber those who don't.