Winter Arcane wrote:
> "siani" <siani@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> news:34qed7F4dl4b5U2@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>>Winter Arcane wrote:
>>
>>>Any parent that would put their needs ahead of those of the children is
>>>probably a liability rather than a benefit to the family. I love my
wife
>>>intensely, but as far as I'm concerned if it comes down to her or the
>>>children...she's expendable.
>>>
>>
>>while that's the prevailing view in the west, in many other cultures it
>>would be the children who were expendable. if the wife was saved, you
>>could have more children, if the children were saved, you would be less
>>able to care for them, and unlikely to have any other children.
>>
>>siani
>
>
> I don't know about others, but for me it would be a lot easier to
replace my
> wife than it would be to replace my children with equivalent models.
I've
> already had a handful of volunteers. While I could conceivably have
more
> children with my wife, it would take several years for the new offspring
to
> reach the stage of development that my current children are already at.
If
> I wasn't too picky, I could replace my wife in a matter of weeks.
i suspect the studies which came up with that response (i think Jennie
pointed the out) used families with young children. it would be
extremely interesting to see if the responses were different for older
children or for women. iirc, the cultures questioned were also ones in
which children are considered independent at much younger ages.
what is interesting about it is that we, in western cultures, take it as
a basic truth that one ought to save the children, whereas other groups
consider it equally basic that they should save the wife. our own
attitudes have changed a great deal from the victorian era, too. it's
interesting how much of what we consider very basic morality is cultural
rather than hardwired.
it does mean that we probably shouldn't morally condemn s*t*r for his
priority of husband over children, if we consider ourselves culturally
sensitive, as the issue is more of culture than of moral strength.
i'm glad i'm in my culture not his, though.
siani
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