The following is taken from an Objectivist (Ayn Rand's philosophy) forum. I thought it was beautiful. There are a few Objectivist (and other philosophical) terms here that may not be very familiar to everyone -- maybe a little cryptic at times -- but I'm sure y'all will get the drift, as this man's passion and love of life nevertheless shines through.

Anyway, here 'tis...

There are plenty of reasons for Objectivists to want to have children. Below are some of mine. They are not universal. They apply only to me and my values, rationally considered and developed through reflection and experience.

1) Having children can be, to me, the greatest possible human achievement.

A volitional, rational consciousness is the “highest” existent possible. To create, develop, nurture, and guide a new human being can be the greatest achievement one can pursue. Writing a great novel or designing a new building requires one to be able to fully integrate their thoughts into a unique and meaningful whole. Building a new and successful business requires one to be able to understand the many forces at work in one’s environment and build on the positive ones while trying to avoid or minimize the negative ones. To successfully raise a child requires all of this and more. It is also a lifelong process that is not completed once the manuscript goes to the publisher or you have finished construction on a new skyscraper.

Raising children can also be one’s greatest possible failure. Your book may end up on the bargain racks, your business may end up in bankruptcy, and your new office building may be the most ugly and uninhabitable monstrosity ever created, but you have not directly harmed anyone else’s life without at least some consent. The only way a moral person can do so is to bring a child into the world and fail them.

My hope is that, lying on my deathbed, I will be able to reflect on my children and know that I created, developed, nurtured, protected, and guided them in full harmony with my values and knowledge every moment of my life. Books I write, businesses I build, or works of art I create may endure and carry on “my legacy” far longer (and far truer) than my children. But I am not seeking life after death, I am seeking the fullest, richest life I can have while I am still here to revel in it.

2) Having children rekindles my awe at the greatness of Man.

Yesterday my wife and daughter met me at work for a picnic lunch at a nearby waterfront park. The scenery was beautiful and would have been appreciated were it just me and my wife there, but the presence of my daughter added a whole other dimension. How long has it been since most of us marveled at the ability of Man to make a plane fly through the air or a boat sail across the water?

Even more, my daughter demonstrates to me every single day how truly amazing Man is in how far each of us comes from birth through adulthood on the simple power of our minds alone. As I watch her learn to abstract, conceptualize, deduce, predict, and the like, I understand - in a more real and concrete way than ever before - the magnificence of Man.

3) Having children is a direct affirmation of my “benevolent universe” view.

I have no doubt that my children will experience pain, sorrow, and failures in their lives. I also have no doubt that I will experience pain, sorrow, and failures in my role as a father. All that will be the exception, not the rule. Lives, properly lived, are joyous, happy, and full of successes both major and minor. Living should be a celebration, and having children increases the number of lives I am directly, intimately, and constantly intertwined with in that act of celebration.

4) Having children is also a celebration of my life, my love of it, my wife, and my love of her.

I take a great deal of pride in the person I have become in life. My wife is a wonderful and heroic being. For all Objectivists, sex is an act of physical expression of our own values. For Objectivists so inclined, having children is an act of physical creation stemming ultimately from those same values.

Were I not the person I am, my wife would not want me to be the father of her children, and vice versa. Two individuals who love one another for who and what they are, coming together to create a unique and irreplaceable new life, and making a lifelong commitment, together and individually, to that life is the ultimate expression of our shared values.

My not-so-humble two cents anyway,

James Koontz

-- Eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), February 22, 2001

Answers

Real nice, thank you, where is this forum?

-- Will (righthere@home.now), February 22, 2001.

Here ya go, Will...

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You'll notice that there have been many posts on the "children" issue. As I only read this one and a couple of others, I can't vouch for them all -- so you may find some drastically diverse viewpoints.

And I'll tell ya...this forum showed me that objectivists do come in many colors. And many of them don't see it as a closed system -- they're very open to new ideas. Very refreshing.

-- Eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), February 23, 2001.

I thought I'd better clarify that my last paragraph was a commentary on the closed-mindedness of many objectivists in general -- it was not a comparison to this forum.

-- Eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), February 23, 2001.

I appreciate your help Eve.

-- Will (righthere@home.now), February 24, 2001.