Let's think about it in terms of Machiavellianism: do the ends justify the means? The end is the kids being well behaved, having fun writing letters and waiting up for Santa Claus, and parents being generally happy with their kids' behavior. The means is deceiving children into believing a very important person (to them) is real when in reality he is entirely fictitious.
This would normally seem fine to most people I think, as it doesn't really harm anyone involved, but if the ends were different, the means might not justify them. For example, what if the children are told by others that Santa isn't real? I know this happened to a lot of kids at my elementary school when I was younger and they were completely devastated! Another thing that could happen is that kids could ask Santa for more presents than their parents are willing or able to buy for them, which could eventually lead to the children being disillusioned or angry with Santa or their parents for not delivering all that they wished for, like they were supposed to.
Machiavelli thought that, in most cases, the end justifies the means.
"In the actions of all men, and especially of princes, where there is no court to appeal to, one looks to the end. So let prince win and maintain his state: the means will always be judged honorable, and will be praised by everyone."
Basically, he thinks that everyone will be happy in the end, so really the means won't be a big deal. I don't think I completely agree with this line of thinking, but I do think I'll tell my kids about Santa Claus, because it will be fun for me!
Do you believe the ends justify the means? Did you believe in Santa when you were younger?
http://sheshachaturvedi.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-makes-you-think-santa-clause-is.html
When I was growing up, my siblings and I all believed in Santa Clause. I feel like it's something parents tell their children because it is so traditional and expected in our society. It also makes the holiday season more fun and special. I think for the most part the ends justify the means of this lie. After all, I don't think anyone really gets hurt from the lie, except for maybe a little disappointment. However I think that maybe the end isn't justified when parents let their children believe in santa clause for too long. At some point and age, they deserve to be told.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely believe the end justifies the means. Santa Claus was such a huge part of my childhood, and one of my friends (whose mom never let him believe) spoiled it in the third grade. Sure, maybe by the third grade it was time for me to accept this, but I took it very hardly. I was mad that my parents lied about it, but even today, my mom and I joke about how Santa's still coming, as if I never knew he wasn't.
ReplyDeleteMy band director in high school took this a step further. He put a little stuffed mouse on the fireplace mantle, the "Christmas Mouse", which watched over his kids to see if they behaved, and eventually returned back to the North Pole to report to Santa. What a mastermind. I was awestruck by this; his kids definitely believe every step of it!
I like to think of the Santa situation as not as much a straight up lie as it is a... game. It seems fun to instill this sense of wonder and magic among children, and it's a tradition that I hope never fades. The happiness in kids' eyes upon seeing the presents under the tree, at least to me, definitely outweighs the dishonesty.
Martha, I really enjoyed reading this post. I have recently been struggling with the theory of the ends justifying the means. I am actually a huge believer of the concept that if the ends are good, then the means are insignificant. I know this isn't entirely a moral argument, because it is essentially implying that the means can be however immoral as they want, as long as the ends are definitely moral. This is why I have been struggling with it, because how can I be in complete favor of an argument that advocates for doing a moral thing in an immoral way? My reasoning is that since the results are moral and are benefiting a greater amount of people, then that is what must be focused on. Yes, it would be nice (and much more preferred) to have a moral action done morally, but in reality, it is more practical to advocate for the ends justifying the means, because it ensures a society filled with good actions.
ReplyDeleteSo, to answer your question, I believe that, even though the concept of Santa is very bizarre, because the parents are lying to their own children, the ends definitely justify the means. The joy and happiness that Santa brought to me and my sister every Christmas cannot be compared to much else. There was something so magical about believing in an all-good and all-generous figure, whose only job was to bring gifts to children across the world. Some of my fondest memories as a child were running to the mailbox with my sister holding a note for Santa, or making cookies for Santa, or being forced to go to sleep early because only then would Santa come. If one looks at it literally, yes the means are bad because of the parents' lies, but I believe one must look at the intentions too when determining an action moral. Yes, the means and ends should be considered, but the intentions must be evaluated as well. Since almost everyones' parents intentions in pretending that there is a Santa is so that their children will be happy and have something to believe in, I believe that the ends definitely justify the means in this case.
To start off, I absolutely believe the ends justify the means. When I had read you didn't believe in Santa Claus growing up, I gasped in the middle of the Law Library and got a few stares from those close-by. I wouldn't be able to tell you what age I was when I figured out Santa Claus wasn't real, but what I do remember is that when I did found out, I only told my brother, and we didn't tell my parents. This was because getting presents from Santa was not only a joy for us growing up, but it was a joy for my parents too. It may have been that they were trying to preserve my childhood for as long as they could because they didn't want me to grow up, but I'm not too sure. Either way, I'll always have memories of Christmas Day with my brother. Even with us far too old to believe in Santa Claus, we still go to bed early each Christmas Eve and wake up early the next day to tip-toe downstairs past the twinkling lights and open presents until our parents woke up and came to see what gifts we had gotten. As a joke my mom still signs the packages as "From: Santa," but to me, preserving the tradition is what truly shows why the ends justify the means, at least in my case, and for my family. It's not just about what you get out of it in the moment, it's about the long-term ends.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do think the ends justify the means, I think this was an interesting way of going about the topic. I liked how you related it to Machiavellian principles. However, I do not believe questioning the methods behind the idea of santa Claus from a Machiavellian perspective is the way to go abut it. Instead, I look at the belief in Santa Claus from a purely developmental psychological standpoint. Jean Piaget, a developmental psychologist, found that children go through many stages in their lives. I won't go through all of them, but the most important one relevant to this topic is the "Preoperational Stage," which is normally the stage where children believe in Santa Claus (2-8 years old). In this stage of development, a child is very keen on picking up behaviors set by their parents, and modeling those behaviors. children at this stage admire their parents and are more likely to listen to what they tell them versus a stranger. I think parents use Santa Claus as a positive reinforcer to behave well, the positive reinforcer being the "nice list," and consequentially getting gifts. Behaviors learned during this stage become predisposed later in their lives, meaning the behaviors and attitudes they learn during this stage tend to stick with them. Behaving well in order to get gifts is an extremely effective way to get children to behave later in life. During this stage, children are very egotistical and operate based on what will benefit them. It is not until children reach the "Formal Operational Stage" that they are capable of thinking abstractly and thinking more on a moral construct.
ReplyDeleteThe belief in Santa claus might seem wrong theoretically, especially in Machiavelli's way of thinking. However, I like to think of it from a Burke-ian (?) standpoint. Just as Burke held that myth and illusion were necessary to keep the lower classes content, I think the same sort of thing could be applied here. In order to get a desired outcome (well-behaved, happy children), parents like to keep their children under the illusion that Santa Claus is real.