Math and Science? We Need to Understand Humans

My wife and I were both academics in what is called the social sciences. Readers know the term "science" in social science is rightfully considered controversial. Whether these disciplines, sociology, psychology, political science, economics, etc., are sciences or not is unimportant. What is important is the study of humans and their success in the animal chain, their frequent mistakes and their tendency toward self-destruction. 

When I heard a preacher named Rick Warren sold millions of copies of a book called The Purpose Driven Life, I wondered what that purpose is? I learned he thinks the great purpose is bending a knee to something both invisible and often harmful. That is religion. There is a life with a greater purpose--studying and working toward survival and well-being of human beings. I can't say for certain what this is, just that we should work at figuring it out. That's what the social sciences do.

A fascinating change is taking place that is not addressed much by math and science. Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life doesn't contribute to understanding it. It is a world-wide decline in births. Some areas are experiencing it more than others, but the best guess is it will go everywhere. A new book is coming out soon providing one of the first serious efforts to discuss this in common language and it is discussed in an article in the New York Times. A pay wall may prevent you from the article but maybe the author, Anna Louie Sussman, is covered somewhere more accessible.

Sussman found the decisions not to have children or have very few are individual decisions made by women alone or by couples. What she found was that the decisions were varied and complex. I don't think understanding declining births well be found through questionnaire research. It will require long discussions with many people over a long period of time. The general theme she found is that uncertainty of many kinds from many sources is the leading variable driving down birth rates. The areas of uncertainty include a partner, a job, world war, world environment, politics, housing, retirement funds and others. A common reaction is to delay a pregnancy until there is less uncertainty. 

Readers here know there this reduction in births is both good and bad. Fewer people may allow the earth to last longer. Life for old people like myself, however, will be affected. My age group, now and future generations, need lots of help. It will not be there. Studying the issue, understanding the birth rate and preparing for new circumstances is the real Purpose Driven Life.