> Having children has made me happier and more fulfilled in ways that I could never have imagined.
That's my main problem with it, it's super selfish to procreate. I don't feel I have the right to force new life (with all the pain and suffering that entails) onto this world for the sake of making me happy. I love my potential children too much to do that to them.
I don't want to have kids in the slightest, but this is not accurate at all. You can have kids for both reasons, and enjoying the lives of your kids is not wrong if you love and care for them for their sake alone as well. In fact, when I tell people that I don't want kids, people go the other way and tell me I'm being selfish not to.
Give one reason why you do anything you do without "I want".
Wanting something isn't selfish. It entirely depends on what it is you actually want.
Oh yes, you could argue from a hardcore libertarian stance that altruism does not exist and every action is inherently selfish but is that a good way of looking at the world? I think not.
On the flip side, there is some probability that your child may save 1 or more lives.
On the flip flip side, there is some chance your child may take 1 or more lives.
Arguing about the selfishness of procreation is silly. It is your biological purpose. Whether you choose to run with that or not is down to you. It is not selfish if you choose whatever way.
As a parent, my children come first. I would die for them. You make that choice when you have children. That is NOT selfish.
You cannot know the feeling of it until you do. You cannot really understand it until you do. It changes your world.