Is it morally wrong to tell children that Santa exists?
Regardless of how much joy and excitement kids get from believing the Santa myth, it is an outright lie, so how can it be regarded as morally right? Should we always take the moral high ground and tell the truth where children are concerned, or should we make exceptions?
When they find out the truth, aren't we teaching children that no one, not even their parents, can be trusted?
I have a very strong opinion about this matter, one that results in my condemning some of my very best friends: I think that there are no good arguments for teaching a child to believe in Santa Claus, or for not telling the child the truth the first time he or she asks. So I quite adamantly disagree with Roger Crisp. Prima facie, one shouldn't lie to one's children. More seriously, one has a duty not to try to positively convince them of things that are beyond false, that are preposterous. Now what is supposed to make inculcating belief in Santa Claus an exception to this prohibition? The fact that the child will experience joy while he or she believes it? That can't in general be an argument for inculcating preposterous beliefs, since there are many such preposterous beliefs that would bring a person joy, were a person successful in believing them: the belief that he or she is the most intelligent person in the world, that he or she will live forever, the belief that there are no calories or...
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