Sternwallow |
12-15-2007 07:26 AM |
Quote:
Irreligious wrote
(Post 458711)
You don't have to teach your kids to believe in Santa if you live in a culture where images of Santa Claus are pervasive this time of year. They'll pick up on the belief without your help. If you don't want them to believe in Santa, then you'll probably have to actively discourage such beliefs.
Personally, I think it's harmless, since they all outgrow that particular fantasical belief well before they hit puberty.
It's perfectly natural for children to view the world as a magical place. It helps them to cope with a lot of confusing and complex notions that are entirely alien to them. They're new people, after all.
Besides, they have to be acquainted with fantasy if they're ever going to be able to distinguish it from that which is real. And indulging fantasy can have the side benefit of encouraging them to think creatively. The idea of humans soaring above the clouds was, necessarily, relegated to the realm of fantasy 150 years ago. But it was creative minds that figured out how to approximate the fantasy and begin to conceive of it as something that could actually be a "real," concrete human experience.
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Your words are wise, young Marklar. My qualm is about the difference between creatively building a fantasy versus believing it.
Those people you mention about flying didn't actually believe that their concocted notion was real, did they? It was a fine dream, but only a dream.
I think the primary enterprise of childhood is learning that there is no magic. They work very hard all the time to discover how things really work and we call the activity "play".
Concepts and ideas arrive at our minds with breathtaking frequency. Magic is just one way to briefly postpone the analysis that will eventually integrate the concept into our overall world view. It is important to always understand that the magic is not real, being imaginary. Otherwise, if the magic is believed as true, that certainty will prevent the needed further inquiry.
Thus, we didn't know the cause of mushroom rings. We imagined fairies dancing around shaking their dust (pollen) onto the ground. If we had seriously believed that, we would not have investigated and discovered the propagation of spores. Likewise, if we envision a soul to explain the sanctity and dignity and purpose of human life. It is OK, as long as we do not believe that it is an actual fact. Later we can dissect humanity and discover that the soul is the correct answer or that it is actually a complex enzyme secreted by the Pineal gland or something else entirely.
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