[ciphol]

When I was a teenager I thought kids were a pyramid scheme. If your life isn't worthwhile, then what point is there in creating another life whose worth will be equally questionable? This sounds like your "scapegoat for meaning of life" idea.

What I eventually gradually realized was that the kid might just be another person, but you're not just creating a person, you're also creating a relationship with that person. And it's a unique kind of relationship, in some ways more intimate than any relationship you can have with anyone else including your romantic partner. (Which adult runs with beaming face to hug you whenever they see you come home from work and you know it's all totally genuine?) I'm not an expert on what has objective meaning in life, but I'm pretty sure that deep relationships like this are one of the stronger candidates.