Hillpig Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 There are millions of orphans and unwanted children in the world. Would it not be more "natural" to take one or more of these already existing children and provide them with a loving home than bring a child into the world using artificial means? I ask a question, I have no experience or fixed opinion on the matter but would be interested to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Sleeps Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Would it not be more "natural" to take one or more of these already existing children and provide them with a loving home than bring a child into the world using artificial means? It depends on if you value spreading your own genes, or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truman Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 There are millions of orphans and unwanted children in the world. Would it not be more "natural" to take one or more of these already existing children and provide them with a loving home than bring a child into the world using artificial means? I ask a question, I have no experience or fixed opinion on the matter but would be interested to learn. I suspect it's more "natural" to want your own offspring....do many animals adopt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_Sleeps Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 ...do many animals adopt? Some go further - they steal other animal's offspring if they cannot have, or lose, their own. Their drive to mother ignore's genetics. Some animals go the other way, and kill other offspring. The beauty of nature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeX Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Is a house natural?.. If you think not then is a termite mound or a bird's best natural? If they are what's the difference? un·nat·u·ral /ˌənˈnaCH(ə)rəl/ Adjective Contrary to the ordinary course of nature; abnormal. Not existing in nature; artificial. Synonyms abnormal - artificial - factitious - affected https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=definition+unnatural Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillpig Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 I suspect it's more "natural" to want your own offspring....do many animals adopt? If we have evolved sufficiently to be able to carry out procedures that allow barren women to conceive surely we have have evolved enough to emotionally attach ourselves to youngsters that we have not actually given birth to. "She who cannot be a mother to one can be mother to thousands". ---------- Post added 20-02-2013 at 17:23 ---------- It depends on if you value spreading your own genes, or not. I realise we are all predisposed to spread our genes. As humans now control their fertility and none of us lead a "natural" life surely we can control this primeval instinct also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melthebell Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 generally when somebody says unnatural they mean it cos its something they don't like, ie being gay not literally unnatural like IVF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lockjaw Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=definition+unnatural But what doesn't exist in nature, Wex? We are part of nature so anything we do exists in nature. Everything exists in nature! ---------- Post added 20-02-2013 at 17:51 ---------- If we have evolved sufficiently to be able to carry out procedures that allow barren women to conceive surely we have have evolved enough to emotionally attach ourselves to youngsters that we have not actually given birth to. "She who cannot be a mother to one can be mother to thousands". ---------- Post added 20-02-2013 at 17:23 ---------- I realise we are all predisposed to spread our genes. As humans now control their fertility and none of us lead a "natural" life surely we can control this primeval instinct also. Probably not. Instincts work on a lower level than learned & other behaviours so they override them. Hence the invention of Gods & afterlives (IMHO). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaliRichard Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 Where do we draw the line on what we view as natural or unnatural? For instance(and I'm only using this as an example, I 'm not in any way against IVF)- Is it natural or unnatural when a couple who are unable to conceive naturally conceive through fertility treatment? I often hear it argued- "If nature didn't intend for it to happen then we shouldn't be meddling with it, then on the flip side the counter argument could be that anything we do as to natural because we ourselves are a product of nature. So Where do we draw the line on this? I suppose it all depends on the context of the conversation really. In common language 'unnatural', as has already been pointed out usually refers to anything 'man-made'. We would say a building is unnatural because it was made, not grown, for example. However in the wider philosophical context it could easily be argued that everything is natural, as human achievement comes from the human cognitive ability and therefore all things 'man made', even those contrary to the things that are already present in nature, are still technically a product of nature. Furthermore all things man made are made of the 'ingredients' already present in nature, so we could argue that 'man made' is not too distant from all living things 'evolving' and shaping/using their environment to benefit themselves. So to my mind I would suggest 'What does unnatural actually mean?' relies heavily upon the context of the question and how 'deep' the conversation is willing to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Shaw Posted February 20, 2013 Share Posted February 20, 2013 In common language 'unnatural', as has already been pointed out usually refers to anything 'man-made'. We would say a building is unnatural because it was made, not grown, for example. Yet 'manufactured' actually means 'made by hand' or 'man-made', precisely the opposite of what it now signifies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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