We like to think we are in control of our desires, and we are in control of some of them, like what color socks we wear or what cereal we eat for breakfast. But our most important, life-affecting desires tend to be beyond our control. We don't, for example, choose to fall in love. In On Desire, I take a look at what science, philosophy, and religion have discovered about human desire--about what we want and why we want it.
Many of our desires, it turns out, are a consequence of our evolutionary past. We want what we want not because getting it will give us a happy, meaningful life, but because our ancestors who wanted the thing in question were more likely to survive and reproduce than those who didn't. Indeed, if we want to have a happy, meaningful life, it is important for us, rather than attempting to satisfy whatever desires pop into our heads, to master desire to the extent possible. After discussing the science of desire, On Desire describes much of the advice that has been given, across cultures and across the millennia, on how this can be done.
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America is the land of laissez-faire parenting. All who possess the biological ability to make a child are allowed to procreate. And having procreated, they are allowed to raise the child they brought into existence, with minimal interference from the government. In freely granting its citizens the right to parent, the government may be serving their interests, but it is arguably neglecting the interests of their children.
The Politics of Parenting examines the relationship between children, their parents, and the state by asking three questions: Who should be allowed to procreate? Who should be allowed to raise children? and, To what extent should the government regulate parental behavior? In his answers to these questions, William Irvine offers a provocative rethinking of reproductive rights. He also considers a number of controversial issues, including whether the government should enforce eugenic measures, whether parents should be licensed, and whether children should be allowed to divorce their parents.
No child asks to be born, and yet we bring them into the world. In doing so, we create a profound obligation for ourselves, an obligation that too many parents these days fail to meet. In his insightful examination of the parent/child relationship, William Irvine answers the question that will be in the mind of any caring parent: What does it take to do right by our children?
In recent decades America has witnessed a decline in the quality of childhood, as parents have grown less willing to put the interests of their children ahead of their own desires. Divorce has become commonplace, as has out-of-wedlock childbirth. Parents have thoughtlessly discarded many of their ancestors’ most cherished notions about childhood.
Doing Right by Children examines our changing views on the obligations of parenthood and considers a number of questions. What characteristics are desirable in a parent? What family structure best serves the interests of children? Is childhood innocence worth preserving? What should our goals be in raising children? When is someone morally justified in bringing a child into existence? The answers to these questions will be of interest not just to parents, but to anyone who laments the decline of childhood in America.