Why are we here?

UPDATE: Since humans did not save themselves on Nov8, runaway global warming will occur soon and life will keep becoming harder. Since suffering will keep increasing, Middleway advises against having children, as humans will be going extinct in the next 300-500 years.

NOTE: Below is what was originally written in 2003 (when humans still had a chance to save themselves)

"The purpose of life is to help to have children and to help to raise them intelligently.”

A human is an animal, not that different from other animals. The purpose of existence for all plants and animals is perpetuation of the species. If a species did not perpetuate itself, it would cease to exist. If a species is to survive, it must have offspring.

     The only significant way we are different from other animals, is in our intelligence. It is our intelligence that gives us the ability to learn, to reason, to think beyond ourselves. Because humans posses intelligence, we should raise our children intelligently. Unfortunately, we could get into quite a debate as to how to raise a child intelligently. But, although it would be difficult to come to complete agreement, there are many ways that we could agree upon. We should love them. We should help them to be loving individuals. We should teach them. We should help them to become teachers of others. Another words, we should help educate them to carry on in an intelligent manner.

First, it should be recognized that raising children intelligently requires a certain amount of knowledge. That means that a certain amount of education, perhaps in high school, should be devoted towards how to raise children intelligently. Additional classes should be available/required for parents to be. 

Second, prenatal healthcare should be universally available, for anything less is not intelligent. Healthcare must be extended to all children, because they must be healthy in order to educate them to the best of their ability.

Third, we must limit the number of children being born. This planet can only support so many billions of humans. Intelligence and reason clearly make that evident. To let the birthrate go uncontrolled is not intelligent, for it can only lead to unnecessary conflicts and deaths. We must exist in equilibrium with this planet.

Fourth, we must educate our children to the best of our ability, instilling in them that all life is precious. We are the species with the ability to have the greatest impact on this planet, so we need to use that ability wisely.

People that do not have children of their own, by choice or due to infertility, should do what they can to help in the raising of children. The guide for ways to help is the statement, “It takes a village to raise a child.” If a person has a job that contributes to the welfare of the village, then he or she is indirectly helping to raise the children in the village. In this way, helping to raise children intelligently is not that different from society now. But in other ways it would be, such as a greater amount of social support for the rearing of children than we currently have.

“The purpose of life is to (help to) have children and to (help to) raise them intelligently.”

Using this as a guide, it is easier to make decisions about what to do in life. Children go to school, not just for themselves, but also to learn to become intelligent parents for their children. Adults select mates, not on physical attraction, but on parenting ability. People select careers not to become rich, but to be able to help fulfill the purpose of life.