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 Simon Nicolas Caplan, my third son, was born this morning. Mother, baby, and father are all doing well. Besides the usual suspects, I'd like to thank the late great Julian Simon for putting me on my natalist path. Almost as soon as I set eyes on my son, I remembered his words: It is only fitting that my son will bear this great man's name. I also owe a debt to the readers of EconLog. Natalist thoughts had been running through my head for years. But it was this forum that inspired me to clarify and organize the thoughts that have become the building blocks for my current book project, Selfish Reasons to Have More Kids. Much oblige!
CATEGORIES:
Family Economics
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Mazel Tov!
Beautiful, congrats!
Congratulations.
Congratulations!
Congrats!
Good for you!
Parabens!
I reckon your children will have productivity well above average, and are more likely to be innovative. Keep cranking 'em out! Your wife rather...
Multa bene!
Beautiful sentiments on a beautiful occassion. Congrats!
My 3rd is due tomorrow. Reading your natalist posts really solidified my conviction to go for it. Way to 'talk your book'!
How wonderful.
Congrats!--I recently had my first (a girl).
Last year I read quite a bit in the philosophy literature on population ethics. My impression is that the natalist view is much more plausible than the alternatives. You are probably already familiar with the literature, but here are some things that I found helpful.
The best book-length defense of an axiology that supports natalism is John Broome, Weighing Lives (besides the seminal discussion in Reasons and Persons, book 4 and the appendix).
Some good articles:
Rachels, "Is It Good to Make Happy People?" Bioethics 12 (April 1998), pp. 93-110.
Krister Bykvist (2007). "The Benefits of Coming Into Existence." Philosophical Studies 135 (3).
Anyway, good luck!
Congratulations Bryan and Mrs. Caplan. And Simon, Happy Birthday and welcome to the world!
Felicitaciones!!! Congratulations to you, your wife and your two other children, and may God Bless you all
Congrats! Simon is of Hebrew origin and means "to hear" or "to be heard."
'Nuff said...
Congratulations!
Felicidades!
Mazal Tov!
A heartfelt congratulations!
Congrats Caplan! My wife and I too have decided to have an extra kid than originally planned because of your posts.
Maybe well name him Bryan?
Congratulations. So how soon can we expect #4? :)
Congrats!
Just dont move to New Hampshire!
http://volokh.com/posts/1251405593.shtml
The Guardian ad Litem ... concluded that the daughter would be best served by exposure to different points of view at a time in her life when she must begin to critically evaluate multiple systems of belief and behavior and cooperation in order to select, as a young adult, which of those systems will best suit her own needs....
[T]he Guardian ad Litem [also] echoed her previous concerns that Amanda's relationship with her father suffers to some degree by her belief that his refusal to adopt her religious beliefs and his choice instead to spend eternity away from her proves that he does not love her as much as he says he does....
[T]he Court is guided by the premise that education is by its nature an exploration and examination of new things, and by the premise that a child requires academic, social, cultural, and physical interaction with a variety of experiences, people, concepts, and surroundings in order to grow to an adult who can make intelligent decisions about how to achieve a productive and satisfying life.
The parties do not debate the relative academic merits of home schooling and public school: it is clear that the home schooling Ms. Voydatch has provided has more than kept up with the academic requirements of the [local] public school system. Instead, the debate centers on whether enrollment in public school will provide [the daughter] with an increased opportunity for group learning, group interaction, social problem solving, and exposure to a variety of points of view.... [T]he Court concludes that it would be in [the daughter's] best interests to attend public school....
In reaching this conclusion, the Court is mindful of its obligation not to consider the specific tenets of any religious system unless there is evidence that those tenets have been applied in such a way as to cause actual harm to the child. The evidence in this case does not rise to that level, and therefore the Court has not considered the merits of [the daughter's] religious beliefs, but considered only the impact of those beliefs on her interaction with others, both past and future. The Court declines to impose any restrictions on either party's ability to provide [the daughter] with religious training or to share with [the daughter] their own religious beliefs.
Congratulations!
May God's blessings be on you and on your son, wife, and family!
And may he be a champion of liberty, probity and valor!
Yet another Mazel Tov!
Congrats Brian!
Our second, Naomi was born on the same day!
The wife and I have always wanted a big family, and your post have reinforced that.
One question I would like to see you comment on is the desire for more children balanced against having them later in life.
I think we would like to have four kids, but we got a late start (first at 32) next at 34 and will probably be 36 before the next one (if we are so blessed).
How do you weigh the increased risk of pregnancy at a later age with the desire to have more children. It would be interesting to hear your thoughts.
Warmest congratulations. eccdogg I am about to have my third and I just turned 42 (the frist two were twins at 36). No idea if the benefits will outweigh the costs at my exceedingly advanced age, but I figure what the hell...not really an economically sound argument I acknowledge!!