K.I.T. asked:
Sorry to sound harsh, but why don’t women just die off once they can’t reproduce anymore if that’s the whole point? How come they can’t reproduce all their lives? Is it just the way things work that there has to be a slowing down period before someone dies, because they get run down over the years and it isn’t natural to just die healthy? Then why do men still get to reproduce? I know that they can have trouble though, so that’s why older men are always on the viagra commercials, right? Since men and women are different, women just have to stop completely, and since men give the stuff, they can’t just stop?
Explain this to me please?!?
Well I did say SUPPOSEDLY. I know I don’t know that for a fact, but there’s so many people who say that’s our only purpose, and they don’t elaborate, so that’s why I asked.
and Howdy Y’all, why do you have to be so rude? Did I say I would actually want that to happen? I asked in here for scientifc reasons, not just personal morals or anything, and I never said that I completely agree about this.
and Howdy Y’all, why do you have to be so rude? Did I say I would actually want that to happen? I asked in here for scientifc reasons, not just personal morals or anything, and I never said that I completely agree about this.
and you may think I should research more before I go flooding up yahoo answers with my ignorace, but this is a question and answer site, and I have questions.
Yeah, again, I said SUPPOSEDLY, I ddin’t say it like it’s definite. I’m questioning it.
Okay, I mean that when somebody wonders what the meaning of life is, a lot of people say it is to procreate and that’s it. That’s what I meant by purpose. I know the people saying that don’t actually feel that way about their life.
In the old days people did not live past the age of around 40. So back then, there was no menopause. It is only since we have become so technologically advanced that we live to the age we do.
Procreation is not just the physical act of making a baby. It is also providing that baby with an environment in which he or she can thrive. If women died off as soon as they could no longer reproduce, their accumulated abilities would be lost and their children couldn’t benefit from them.
As for why men still get to reproduce, it’s largely because a man has to do a lot less work than a woman. So it’s easier for men to remain healthy enough to deliver than women. The other problem is simply that eggs are made differently from sperm, and old eggs just don’t work.
Basically, evolution doesn’t ever produce a perfect system. It just produces something that works well enough. Living things are filled with crazy contrivances.
Update: From your update, it’s not clear how you are using the word “purpose”. Nobody sensible suggests that every living human being should make procreation their sole moral goal, and that people who choose not to have children have lived worthless lives.
In primitive societies you would probably think yourself lucky if you got to the grand old age of 45, also if you have a kid at age 40 it is still going to need 10 + years to raise it to be able to look after itself. Plus an elder of the tribe would be good to look after the grandchildren.
Anyway don’t forget all men give is a teaspoon of fluid that’s not too arduous even for an eighty year old, bearing a child uses up way more resources.
This is the way we’ve evolved there’s no right or wrong or unfair to it.
Who says our whole purpose is to procreate? If that were so, people who don’t want kids, people who shouldn’t have kids (there are many of those!), people with genetic disorders or propensity to disease they would rather not pass on to another generation, mentally retarded, physically disabled, or just plain stupid people, should just be taken out and shot? Regarding the question about men being able to reproduce at a more advanced age than women, well….. men don’t carry the babies. All they do is provide the fertilizer. As people age, their bodies tend to wear out and everything that was easy at a young age becomes more difficult and even possibly dangerous to attempt. So if the women become too old to carry a healthy baby while remaining healthy themselves, and you suggest they just drop dead for that reason, why don’t we just tell Grandpa to drop dead when he becomes too old and feeble to climb the ladder and replace those shingles on the roof?
Procreation is just one purpose for which we are here. Two others reasons are to serve God and have dominion over our environment.
The reason for menopause is to enable women help take care of their grandchildren. If they were still procreating, this would be extremely difficult. Also, the rigors of childbearing are such that it would be unfair to have women go thru that all the days of their lives.
This is the best explanation I could find.
Procreation is rather pointless unless the progeny survives, and human babies require lots of care. Historically, that’s usually been provided more by the mother than the father. In any case, it’s thirteen or so years until new humans are capable of breeding. Should a woman have a baby just before her own death, then the chances of that baby growing up are very low. In general, it’s beneficial for the interests of her new progeny if the woman sticks around for a considerable number of years after the birth.