From: hal@finney.org
Date: Tue Jun 12 2001 - 11:08:31 MDT
> My question here is, how do you reconcile having children with pursuing
> goals that can't be accomplished in a normal lifespan to begin with? Besides
> comprehensive and radical self improvement and enlightenment, my specific
> goals for this life include helping to legalize drugs, end intellectual
> property, and extend maximum lifespan (in the relatively short term, meaning
> several decades) and helping humanity transition into posthumanity and making
> that transition myself (long term).
I don't think this itself is a reason not to have children. Many people in
history have been tremendously successful and productive even though they
had kids. I don't think you can make a general case that they would have
been even more productive if they had been childless.
There are several aspects to having kids which are positive. For one,
it doesn't have to be that much of a draw on your time. I know this
is not politically correct today, but historically many children have
had most of their attention coming from their mother. The father was
often gone most of the day, with just some perfunctory attention to
the kids when he comes home from work, before they are sent off to bed.
If your wife is the one who wants children, she can agree to take care
of most of the child-raising. All you have to do is to be reasonably
friendly and affectionate when you see them. You don't necessarily have
to change your work schedule.
For another, any life needs some balance. You can't spend 100% of your
time working on your causes. Children can help to ground your activities
by reminding you in a very direct, emotional way that there are future
generations whose welfare will depend on your activities. Some of us
have a tendency to get caught up in abstractions. Children represent
the reality of life.
Your children will share your genetic heritage. They are likely to be
similar to you, more so than almost anyone else in the world. You may
well find that your children will share your views and perspectives as
they grow older. They can even help you with your causes.
If you do go through with the decision to have children, whether it is out
of love for your wife or for any other reason, I would encourage you to
make your children aware of your ideas from the youngest age. Send them
to bed with stories of posthumanity. Don't teach them that they are going
to die, teach them that someday, hopefully soon, science will advance so
that no one has to die any more, but that some people don't like science
and Daddy has to work hard to make sure the scientists can do their work.
We have a stereotype of teenagers as being rebellious and contemptuous,
but I think this is to some extent an artifact of the aimlessness and
lack of focus of modern culture. I have observed that families that have
strong moral beliefs tend to have kids who are positive and actively
involved in the family's causes. If you decide to start a family,
this would be a good model to follow.
Good luck, whatever you decide.
Hal
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