Why should I care about a fetus?

[True_Avery]

I'm going to be the one to ask this question, but:

 

Am I the only one who could really care less about a bunch of eggs when we have 6 billion people on this planet thats placing many areas into overpopulation, plenty of children in adoption, and plenty more being left on the side of roads (say, China)?

 

Maybe I'm just unnaturally uncaring, but I've yet to have the revelation as to why an egg and even a fetus is so wholly important. Do people really care about the actual life, or is it just some DNA imprint that tells us to go "aww" when we see a baby?

 

Because, honestly, from my own experience with people we seem to have this attachment to something that isn't born while completely ignoring most that are alive, and probably just ignoring them after.

 

Like, Octo-mom for instance. Tons of people got indignant when abortion was mentioned to get rid of some of the babies to give the rest a better chance, but I've seen some of those same people turn around and get angry now that the tax dollars have to pay for those 8 kids now that they are here even though it was quite obvious beforehand that's how it was going to end up.

 

Maybe I'm just the only one being honest here or I'm just overly apathetic, but either way I could care less. I can honestly say that I cannot feel empathy for every person on this planet, and if I cannot do good on every one of them I don't see why I should give a damn about some eggs sitting in a fertility clinic.

 

Hell, why should I even care about a fetus? It is just going to grow into another human, and I'll admit right here that I am pretty apathetic towards other people.

 

Does anyone have an answer for me? I am not religious and do not fear any god or anything in a possible afterlife so a religious answer is not going to really cut it for me.

 

Should I feel some moral obligation to them? When I see/hear "fetus", should I just get this happy feeling in my stomach or something?

 

Or, rather, should I be dishonest with myself and pretend I care about them when I can honestly say there are people alive today I hate, couldn't care less about, and could not empathize with without extensive experiences?

 

So, I'd like an honest answer as to why I should care or why I'm wrong in not caring. My indecision on whether it is "good" or not to think the way I do has been bugging me.

[Ray Jones]

Good, bad, what does it even matter? At least you're honest, that's cool enough.

[kipperthefrog]

We have a population problem, that is for sure. Apparently, they care about the quantity of life, not the quality of life, thus overpopulation.

[Totenkopf]

Well, take it one step further, why should you care about any life that doesn't intersect directly with yours (and even perhaps some that does--like the people you hate)? All those people in the Sudan? Who cares....they may be "people", but they apparently can't fend for themselves vs their environment, so why care if they live or die. India? Same thing. As you point out, we already have 6+ billion people on the planet.... Same goes for death row. Give "people" a limited appeals process, especially in cases like the kid in Pgh or mumiya jamal and then extinguish their "carbon footprint" (however miniscule) in the name of the environment or some equally spurious reason. Hell, you can even skip the cost of coffins and let them be "recycled" by the earth directly. And if overpopulation is such a big deal, why even stick around. It's not like you're going to live forever anyway and once you're dead you won't know you did yourself in in the first place (unless there is an afterlife in the end). So many variables, so little time, so few answered (answerable?) questions........

[Q]

I think that a better question is: "Why should I care about anybody?"

[mur'phon]

"Why should I care about anybody?"

 

Unless doing so benefits me, I don't, and I don't really believe anyone else does either.

Somewhat related: clicky

[Achilles]

There is "why should" and then there is "why does".

 

As for "why should", I could go type up a long, boring treatise on how social animals benefit from shared concern, or how caring for one's mate/offspring provides an evolutionary advantage.

 

As for "why does", the leading culprit for that mystery is something called mirror neurons.

 

I can't speak for anyone here, but it has been my experience that "looking out for number one" typically involves some sort of override. Not implying that learned behaviors are all bad, but I think it's kinda telling that this is mind-set that one has to work towards.