I have heard a number of mothers and father say that having kids was the best thing that ever happened to them. The survey showed this was a very strong pattern, especially among women. In particular, a lot of the reports deal with the very moment in which they held their first baby in their arms for the first time. Some quotes to illustrate this pattern:
The best experience of my life was when my first child was born. I was unsure how I would feel or what to expect, but the moment I first heard her cry I fell in love with her instantly. I felt like suddenly there was another person in this world that I cared about and loved more than myself. I felt a sudden urge to protect her from all the bad in the world. When I first saw her face it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It is almost an indescribable feeling. I felt like I understood the purpose and meaning of life at that moment. I didn’t know it was possible to feel the way I felt when I saw her. I was the happiest I have ever been in my entire life. That moment is something that I will cherish forever. The only other time I have ever felt that way was with the subsequent births of my other two children. It was almost a euphoric feeling. It was an intense calm and contentment. ————— I was young and had a difficult pregnancy with my first born. I was scared because they had to do an emergency c-section because her health and mine were at risk. I had anticipated and thought about how the moment would be when I finally got to hold my first child and realize that I was a mother. It was unbelievably emotional and I don’t think anything in the world could top the amount of pleasure and joy I had when I got to see and hold her for the first time. ————— I was 29 when my son was born. It was amazing. I never thought I would be a father. Watching him come into the world was easily the best day of my life. I did not realize that I could love someone or something so much. It was at about 3am in the morning so I was really tired. But it was wonderful nonetheless. ————— I absolutely loved when my child was born. It was a wave of emotions that I haven’t felt by anything before. It was exciting and scary and beautiful all in one.
No luck for anti-natalists… the super-strong drug-like effects of having children will presumably continue to motivate most humans to reproduce no matter how strong the ethical case against doing so may be. Coming soon: a drug that makes you feel like “you just had 10,000 children”.
Yes or “Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution” and brains of many adults without kids generate the “your life is meaningless” feeling.
Yes or “Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution” and brains of many adults without kids generate the “your life is meaningless” feeling.
Only to the extend that they don’t have something else that gives their lifes meaning. One person I know recently became mother and said that it was less impactful for her then for other women because she already had meaning beforehand.
“warping” means shifting away from the intended shape so since evolution “programed” us to have kids the effect of having kids on the brain should not be considered “mind warping”.
I guess it depends whether you care about evolution’s goals or your own. If the way that evolution did it was to massively change what you care about/what’s meaningful after you have children, then it seems it did it in a way that’s mind warping.
I would agree with you there.
I wouldn’t agree that describing an experience as ‘meaningful’ is antithetical to rationality, though.
Finding meaning in life felt extremely important to me, until I had a kid and then I stopped thinking about it.
I suppose one hypothesis here is that having a kid is dangerously mind warping on the same level as psychedelics.
This is substantiated by data in “Logarithmic Scales of Pleasure and Pain” (quote):
Birth of children
I have heard a number of mothers and father say that having kids was the best thing that ever happened to them. The survey showed this was a very strong pattern, especially among women. In particular, a lot of the reports deal with the very moment in which they held their first baby in their arms for the first time. Some quotes to illustrate this pattern:
No luck for anti-natalists… the super-strong drug-like effects of having children will presumably continue to motivate most humans to reproduce no matter how strong the ethical case against doing so may be. Coming soon: a drug that makes you feel like “you just had 10,000 children”.
Yes or “Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution” and brains of many adults without kids generate the “your life is meaningless” feeling.
Only to the extend that they don’t have something else that gives their lifes meaning. One person I know recently became mother and said that it was less impactful for her then for other women because she already had meaning beforehand.
It seems like both of these are the same hypothesis.
“warping” means shifting away from the intended shape so since evolution “programed” us to have kids the effect of having kids on the brain should not be considered “mind warping”.
I guess it depends whether you care about evolution’s goals or your own. If the way that evolution did it was to massively change what you care about/what’s meaningful after you have children, then it seems it did it in a way that’s mind warping.