Is Parenthood A Rational Choice? - Take 2
I want to take a closer look at L. A. Paul's argument that The Decision (whether or not to have children) is not rational. In my last post , I claimed her argument is not clearly valid. I want to explain why. Her argument can be represented by this series of propositions: 1) If The Decision is rational, then it involves people who have never had children comparing what it would be like to have children with what it would be like to remain childless. 2) People who have never had children cannot know what it would be like to have children. 3) If a person cannot know what it would be like to have children, then they cannot compare what it would be like to have children with what it would be like to remain childless. 4) People who have never had children cannot compare what it would be like to have children with what it would be like to remain childless. 5) Therefore, The Decision is not rational. On the surface, it looks like you must accept (4) and (5) if you ac...