Procreation and Parenthood: The Ethics of Bearing and Rearing Children - Softcover

Archard and Benatar have assembled six excellent essays, three concerning the ethics of creating life and three concerning the ethics of providing parental care. Each essay is clearly written and well argued, clearly situates its contribution in the larger literature, and makes an original contribution that advances the conversation of which it is a part. This makes the book both a must-read for those already working in these areas and an excellent point-of-entry for those who are not. (Norvin Richards, Mind)

essential reading . . . The book adds to the literature by moving certain debates forward, with more nuanced and often more challenging considerations of children's rights and autonomy. (Contemporary Political Theory)

Each chapter in this volume makes a significant contribution to the literature on children's rights. It should be considered essential reading for anyone seriously concerned with the complex issues surrounding the moral and legal status of children. (Philosophical Quarterly)

[an] admirably clear and sharply written book. (Adrian Thatcher, Journal for the Study of Marriage & Spirituality)

The moral and political status of children and the rights and duties of parents are subjects that have enjoyed renewed political and philosophical interest in recent years, and this collection addresses the principal questions with admirable clarity and subtlety. (Political Studies Review)

Producing and rearing children are immensely important human activities. Procreation and Parenthood offers new and original essays by leading philosophers on some of the main ethical issues raised by these activities. An Introduction supplies an accessible overview of the current debates. Individual chapters then take up particular problems such as: the morality of bringing people into existence; what limits there might be on a person's freedom to reproduce; whether human beings need to ensure that they only create the best possible children; whether there is a conflict between justice and parents' devotion of time and money to their own children; and, whether parents acquire their role because of their intention to do so or because they are responsible for bringing children into being.