Today is mother’s day in a number of places, and because mothers should be celebrated also from a philosophical point of view, here’s a post on motherhood. The philosophy of motherhood, or more generally, the philosophy of parenthood, is still an under-explored topic; sadly, one of its main exponents, Sara Ruddick, passed away very recently. But its significance for a comprehensive understanding of human nature seems beyond doubt, given the centrality of the parent-child relationship in a human life (either as a parent or as a child, or both).
As with most other philosophical topics, it is my conviction that motherhood must also be explored from a ‘naturalized’ point of view, i.e. taking into account empirical data on mothering across species and different human societies. Luckily, the perfect starting point for such an analysis already exists: Sarah Blaffer Hrdy’s wonderful Mother Nature, a comprehensive study of the topic adopting an ‘empirical’ perspective over motherhood. Hrdy, an accomplished anthropologist and primatologist, walks a fine line between gender essentialism and the biological basis of motherhood, but the emphasis is precisely on the extreme variability, both across species and across different human populations, in the ways in which mothering is practiced. The picture that emerges is nuanced: motherhood is neither entirely a social construction (it has a strong biological component) nor exclusively a biologically determined phenomenon, given its multiple, diverse manifestations even within one and the same species, in the case of humans.
To my mind, Mother Nature offers one of the most illuminating accounts of human nature that I have ever come across, so I highly recommend it. In order to elicit your interest, let me list here a few of the fascinating points made in the book:
- If there is one universal feature of motherhood across species and time is that females must constantly balance their needs and the needs of offspring: the idea of motherhood as consisting of total, self-sacrificing dedication is a myth.
- Mothers must typically be resourceful and skilled to provide for the needs of offspring. So the opposition between ‘being a good mother’ and ‘working outside the home’ is an utterly false dilemma.
- Humans are social breeders; alloparents (individuals other than the actual parents acting in a parental role) have always played a crucial role. In fact, according to the ‘grandmother hypothesis’, a key factor in human evolution is the longevity of female members of the species beyond reproductive age, who can thus invest resources in the offspring of their offspring.
- Indeed, as noted here before, humans distinguish themselves from all other species, including other primates, for the exceptionally long period during which the young require active care. Humans are born extremely immature (altriciality) and remain unable to subsist independently for many years.
- It has been estimated that a human child requires about 11 million calories until it reaches independence, which (in a hunter-gatherer setting) a mother alone could never provide for; she needs a lot of help from other adults.
- What about differences between ‘mothers’ and ‘fathers’? Mammals are the only group of animals where there is a biological difference between the care that a mother can provide and the care that a father can provide: lactation.
- In most primates, fathers are not actively involved in child-rearing, but in some species they are (e.g. the titi monkey).
- Across species, there is a correlation between monogamous patterns and higher paternal investment on offspring. But in certain circumstances, mothers are better off entertaining relationships with more than one male, thus enlisting the help of a few ‘possible fathers’ (as seems to be the case in e.g. savanna baboons).
- Human fathers have ‘what it takes’ (biologically) to become great care-providers, but eliciting this behavior requires the right circumstances and exposure (which is by the way also true of mothers!): “on the rare occasions when human fathers or allofathers end up being the sole [or primary] caretakers, infants form primary attachments to them.” (p. 214)
Here and there, Hrdy also interpolates comments on her own experience as a researcher and a mother of three, such as when she left home for 6 weeks to do field work in India, leaving her toddler to be taken care of by the father and a house-keeper. (In a similar vein, my mother’s day present of this year was a back-pack, which I will need given that my new job in Groningen will require me to spend a few nights a week away from home.)
So, happy mother’s day to all mothers, but also to all allomothers! Fathers, partners, grandparents, caregivers in general: those who get involved in child rearing, and thereby allow women who are mothers to realize their full potential both as mothers and beyond motherhood.
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