Is There a Moral Obligation to Have Children?

Journal of Applied Philosophy 12 (1):41-53 (1995)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

ABSTRACT I argue, counter‐intuitively, that under certain conditions many people are under some moral requirement to attempt to bring children into being . There is only rarely a strict obligation to have children, but more moderate, inclining moral considerations in favour of having children, have a place in our moral world. I begin by considering a large number of arguments in favour and against the possibility of an obligation to have children. Then I examine when the weight of one set of arguments is greater. And I conclude by pointing out some general lessons from the discussion

Other Versions

No versions found

Links

PhilArchive

    This entry is not archived by us. If you are the author and have permission from the publisher, we recommend that you archive it. Many publishers automatically grant permission to authors to archive pre-prints. By uploading a copy of your work, you will enable us to better index it, making it easier to find.

    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 102,786

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Is There a Moral Obligation to Have Children of Only One Sex?Kalina Kamenova - 2010 - American Journal of Bioethics 10 (7):26-27.
Sexism and human enhancement.Robert Sparrow - 2013 - Journal of Medical Ethics 39 (12):732-735.
The Confucian Filial Obligation and Care for Aged Parents.James Wang - 1998 - The Paideia Archive: Twentieth World Congress of Philosophy 5:120-128.
Dependent Children, Gratitude, and Respect.Amy Mullin - 2016 - Journal of Moral Philosophy 13 (6):720-738.
A Legacy of Harm? Climate Change and the Carbon Cost of Procreation.Daniel Burkett - 2021 - Journal of Applied Philosophy 38 (5):790-808.
Veganism and Children: A Response to Marcus William Hunt.Carlo Alvaro - 2019 - Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 32 (4):647-661.
Rights, Children, and Education.Anita Lafrance Allen - 1979 - Dissertation, University of Michigan

Analytics

Added to PP
2010-08-10

Downloads
170 (#141,284)

6 months
11 (#298,247)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Saul Smilansky
University of Haifa

Citations of this work

The Unique Value of Adoption.Tina Rulli - 2014 - In Carolyn McLeod & Francoise Baylis (eds.), Family Making: Contemporary Ethical Challenges. Oxford, GB: Oxford University Press.
The Ethics of Procreation and Adoption.Tina Rulli - 2016 - Philosophy Compass 11 (6):305-315.
Antinatalism, Asymmetry, and an Ethic of Prima Facie Duties.Gerald Harrison - 2012 - South African Journal of Philosophy 31 (1):94-103.
Public Goods and Procreation.Jonny Anomaly - 2014 - Monash Bioethics Review 32 (3-4):172-188.

View all 22 citations / Add more citations

References found in this work

Who should bear the cost of children?Rolf George - 1987 - Public Affairs Quarterly 1 (1):1-42.
Why Have Children?Marshall Missner - 1987 - International Journal of Applied Philosophy 3 (4):1-13.
The Political-Economic Population-Paradox.Saul Smilansky - 1993 - International Journal of Applied Philosophy 8 (1):9-12.

Add more references