'Atheist(s)' - explain why a mother would sacrifice her life for her child?

Question

Survival of the fittest? Delusional?

Also, please say, if possible, if you are actually agnostic or atheist - there seems to be some confusion in some of your past answers.

Believe me, I know how ignorant I am (???is that possible??) - trying to understand your views, not trying to convert anyone.

Being the simpleton that I am, I don't understand how an emotion, which can only be measured when someone acts, can fit into the atheists world. Isn't this a mystery, to a degree?

I'm not arguing that it proves my view is true, I just am trying to understand how you can accept something which begins as such an abstract.

Backing up a step, if the mother didn't sacrifice herself, why do you believe that she loves? Can you measure it - test it, without an obvious sacrifice?

You love, I am sure. Why?

I don't think its silly, maybe ignorant in the context of asking atheists this question - some folks argue love does not exist.

Sorry to offend, not intended.

Answer 1

(Atheist here.)
Evolution does not require that EVERY member of a species survive, only that enough survive to pass on their genes to continue the species. Love is an emotion that evolved to ensure that females would bond with their young to ensure the survival of their offspring, who need a lot of personal care to reach adulthood. In most species, it isn't to the parent's advantage to sacrifice themselves to save their young, as the young would have nobody else to raise them. Humans, however, can be assured that there is usually at least one other person who will take on the care and feeding of their children; thus, we can afford to be willing to die for our offspring's sake. Some people, of course, are more altruistic than others, which is simply a reflection of differing personalities. If you are implying that a God is somehow necessary for all this to happen, you are wrong. Nature runs itself quite well without one.

Answer 2

Atheist. A mother has telomeres in her DNA which slowly count down until she dies. Her body does this so that future generations don't have to compete with HER for food. A mother has an overpowering love for her baby even though it is an ugly, stinky, loud, obnoxious mess. Actually, she has that love BECAUSE of all that. And a mother will sacrifice herself for her child because it is not SURVIVAL of the fittest, it's that whatever DNA reproduces successfully keeps on reproducing. A live, fertile baby is a success more than an old live mother is. And that matters too. A young mother may instead opt to have more children, or just stay alive for the sake of other children she is raising.

J.P. mentions surrogates...ESSENTIAL to the act of self sacrifice if the baby is unable to live on it's own.

Answer 3

I am an Atheists. What is surprising about a mothers love for a child? I don't have any children but I would hope that I would love my child as much. There is a story in the Holy Bible where there is a city under siege. People are starving and this mother is complaining to the king. It seams the two mothers had agreed that they would kill and eat one of their baby's today and the next day they would eat the other one. So they killed this one woman's baby and ate it. But when it was time to kill the other baby the mother had hidden it away. Do you think the other mother was just greedy and wanted to keep her baby so she could eat it all her self. The Bible doesn't say.

Answer 4

Atheist. Many mothers of different species sacrifice, or are willing to themselves for their young. Try getting between a mother bear and her young. In many species both parents die after fulfilling their role in the reproduction cycle.

This is not survival of the fittest, it's ensuring that your genes are passed through your offspring.

Answer 5

I am grateful that you included the "s," even if parenthetically.

I'm an agnostic.

It is not only human mothers that are prepared to sacrifice their lives for their young. Animals and birds have been observed losing their lives in defense of their offspring.

There may be some instinctive drive to protect the next generation and we, as mammals, have likely inherited that drive.

Answer 6

Well, do you want the human, emotional response or the "animalistic" one? The emotional answer is that mothers love their children and don't want them to die. The "animalistic" one is that it is important to preserve the life of offspring as a way of ensuring the continuation of the species. Lots of animals will "sacrifice" themselves by fighting to the death in order to save their offspring.

I'm a weak or agnostic atheist.

Answer 7

Neither atheism nor agnosticism deny the existence of love, morality, ethics, or any other noble pursuit; they simply question or deny the existence of a higher supernatural power.

Your question is appallingly ignorant and insulting - do you really hope to convert anyone with such poor reasoning?

Answer 8

It's an instinct and nothing to do with religion. You mentioned only women and not men so therefore you don't have the answer to that question either, being male.
Animals in the wild do the same thing and yet the bible says that animals do not have souls.......
I am not an atheist, I believe in god(s) but this question is silly!

Answer 9

Why is this addressed to atheists only? I'm not atheist but what would the natural mothering instinct of sacrificing herself for her child have to do with religion, and please don't deny it, you're trying to imply something that is frankly cheap and insulting.

The idea that only good Christian women would sacrifice themselves for their child has NOTHING to do with religion and EVERYTHING to do with simple basic nature and the bond between mother and child also known as LOVE (which by the way is not a Christian only concept.)

Smarten up.

Answer 10

there is no emotion more powerful than a mother's love for her child. once your child is born, your own life becomes insignificant, all that matters is the survival and well being of the child.

i suppose you could say i'm agnostic by default, but i prefer to not put labels on my belief systems, seeing how i'm not a file cabinet and all.