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Fast forward ten years or so, and although Christmas is still my favorite holiday, I know longer have the overwhelming sense of anticipation I once did, as I know that Santa will in fact not be sliding down my chimney. Today in lecture when we were talking about truth versus representation, someone brought up the example of Santa Claus. This got me thinking about how closely Plato's Allegory of the Cave reflects a child's depressing realization of the mythical concept of Santa. Let's take a closer look.
Plato writes:
"And what if the prison also had an echo from the side facing them? Whenever one of the men passing by happens to utter a sound, do you suppose they would believe that anything other than the passing shadow was uttering the sound?"
In the cave, the shadows were the prisoners' representation of reality, so when they heard sounds they believed they were coming from the shadows. Similarly, when a child hears noise downstairs on the night of Christmas Eve, they assume that this is Santa distributing their presents and that their parents are tucked away fast asleep. Their belief that Santa is actually downstairs in their very own house only adds to the excitement. They are so sure that Santa is real that any other explanation for the noises they hear is absurd.
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Plato explains:"Don't you suppose he'd be at a loss and believe that what was seen is truer than what is now shown?" Like the prisoners in the cave, even when children are exposed to the truth they try to maintain their initial beliefs. Santa IS REAL!! they assert. They can't accept that what they had known as reality their whole life could possibly be false.
To their depression, kids eventually are forced to come to the realization that there is no Santa after all, and that the whole concept never even made sense in the first place. Common sense can tell one that a) reindeer don't fly and b) one person cannot possibly go to every house in one night, along with a whole host of other ridiculous propositions. In accepting the truth, Plato writes, "Then I suppose he'd have to get accustomed, if he were going to see what's above." Children, like the prisoners and the shadows, eventually accept the truth about Santa, even though it may take some getting accustomed to.
Exposing the falseness of Santa
This discussion raises some moral questions. Is it right to lead your kids to believe that Santa exists, when in fact this is a giant lie? Parents are usually not even the ones to break the truth to their kids. Children have to find it out the hard way, such as when a friend breaks the news to them, or even worse, if they catch their parents in the act. Parents are essentially the "philosophers," as they know the truth about Santa when their kids don't. Is it right to subject your children to a misrepresentation of reality, when you know, but are hiding, the truth? What do you think? Do you think it's okay to lie to your (future) kids about Santa? And if you do, then do you think parents should be the ones to eventually tell their kids the truth?
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteGreat article, and a perfect comparison to the Socrates allegory of the cave. Kids definitely are kept in the dark (cave) about Santa by their parents.
In general, I'm an honest person to the fault. I say whats on my mind, and always speak the truth. However, in this situation I would keep the Christmas tradition of Santa going when I have kids. Christmas is a joy every year for millions of kids who believe in Santa.I feel old saying this, but those days were amazing.The excitement leading up to Christmas was almost unbearable, and its still that way now. There's no way I could ruin that for my kids if they ask me too early.
I would definitely keep it going until my kids are around 11 or 12, and then I would tell them. They definitely should find out from parents, to risk getting embarrassed in school like I did.I found out in 6th grade at my lunch table. The subject came up, and I defended Santa, saying that NORAD tracked him. I found out later that he wasn't real and it was embarrassing. Good thing I sat with people that were friends already!
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI think this post presents a great connection between the idea of Santa Claus and the "Allegory of the Cave." To me, the main point on the "Allegory of the Cave" reading was the difference we have between expected reality and actual reality. In the story, the shadows were the prisoners' representation of reality, so when they heard sounds they believed they were coming from the shadows. This was their expected reality because it was what they were open to. Similar to this idea, the misrepresentation of reality is seen in the existence of Santa Claus. As children, they EXPECT that Santa Claus is real because they are pushed to believe he is real with the traditions of the milk and cookies gone in the morning and the presents surprisingly showing up. This is a child's expected reality because this is what they are open to because of their families. The ACTUAL reality is that Santa Claus is not real. Just like Plato explains with the cave, this is similar with Santa Claus in the sense that when told the truth, children want to maintain their initial beliefs. Furthermore, just as Plato states that "he would have to get accustomed," the child who once believed in Santa Claus would have to get accustomed to the fact that he is not real. I think the connection you made is great!
Great comparison, Elizabeth. Having never celebrated Christmas myself, I find this topic very interesting. I remember accidentally ruining the illusion of Santa Claus to a friend of mine in elementary school who did celebrate Christmas and believed in Santa. Being a young kid, I could not understand why my friend was so worked up and defensive at my comment that Santa did not exist. That night, my parents sat me down and explained to me that although Santa is not real, the myth behind is to get kids excited for Christmas. Again, this was a foreign concept to me. It seemed as though parents were lying to their kids.
ReplyDeleteBecause I have never celebrated Christmas, it is difficult to imagine myself in the situation as a parent contemplating what to tell my kids. I suppose I would go along with the "fun" and allow my children to be "in Plato's cave" with a false sense of reality. I would pay close attention to my children’s cognitive development, and tell them the reality of Santa Claus when I saw any sign of doubt of mythical creatures in their mind. I would attempt to do this, like Matthew said above, for fear of my children having the embarrassing experience that I unfortunately caused my friend. While I am not a fan of “withholding reality,” it can be argued that continuing the myth of Santa Claus could be in children’s best interest.
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this post! It is the perfect comparison and you did a phenomenal job of illustrating the details of the correlation between the Allegory of the Cave and Santa Claus. Christmas is a big deal in my family and I can definitely relate to this post. I found the links you provided very helpful and the "unfunny truth about santa claus" because I had never seen the logistics of Santa Claus broken down. I feel like this idea of the Allegory of the Cave relates to a lot of aspects in our everyday lives. What we think to be true might not actually be true, and we don't always want to believe the truth.
In all honesty, I was a prisoner of the cave for a very long time when it comes to Santa Claus. My parents did a great job of keeping the illusion alive, and hiding the truth. They went to great lengths to represent Santa as a reality. I remember one morning I woke up to soot footprints from the chimney to our Christmas tree. It was a clear sign that Santa was real, his footprints were proof! Well, turned out to just be my dad. But I think this would be a good example of the shadows that the prisoners of the cave see, making them believe a misrepresentation. Just as I believed the misrepresentation of Santa's footprints.
It was a sad thing to finally realize that Santa wasn't real. I definitely will continue the tradition for my kids, and probably let them believe for as long as they want. They will have to realize themselves that it's not real. But I think it would be fun for me as the controller of the shadows to play along with it. It's good to foster a child's imagination. Parents giving their children a false perception of reality through Santa Claus really isn't that big of a deal in the grande scheme of things.
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteLove the comparison! Like others that have commented, as a child, my parents have also kept the illusion of Santa Claus alive. Not only Santa Claus, but I also believed in the tooth fairy and the easter bunny. Looking back at it now it seems absolutely ridiculous to believe in such thing. What I question is that do children really believe in Santa Claus or do they just like the idea of it? The idea of a jolly old man distributing presents on flying reindeers seems so perfect. Maybe children loves the idea so much that they want to convince themselves that it's real. When children see the milk and cookies gone Christmas morning, that only reinforces the illusion of Santa Claus. Maybe children do know that Santa Claus is not real but they do not want to step into reality just yet.
Just like in the 'Allegory of the Cave,' the prisoner did not at first want to except reality when he was first dragged out of the cave. The prisoner wanted to go back to the cave where he felt safe and where he was familiar with the shadows that were being casted. That's where I think children stand about the belief of Santa Claus. They do not want to accept reality just yet. Eventually, just like the prisoner, the child will step out of their safe zone.
Great post Elizabeth!
ReplyDeleteGrowing up, my parents always perpetuated the Santa Claus myth, but I was able to figure out on my own that the big guy was simply a figment of my imagination. It always seemed a little weird to me as to why some random man would give me the most expensive things I asked for during the holidays. Being older today, I'm glad I was able to realize sooner than later, and probably miss out and a potential heartbreak when my parents would have told me Santa didn't exist.
When I have kids, I most likely will tell them that Santa Claus is indeed real, and leave it up to them to decide if they believe it or not. I think the idea of Santa Claus is something every kid should experience, especially due to the movies, tv shows, etc. that are seen with his image. I figured it out myself, so I should expect the same of my children! I don't think that giving your children a false reality is a bad thing at all.
Dear Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI thought your blog "Santa Claus a Misrepresentation of Reality" was spot on! Pluto's " Allegory of the Cave" is a perfect representation of all the sounds and images of parents attempting to create a wondrous illusion for their children. I remember footprints on the fireplace and half eaten cookies from the night before. Evidence that Santa had been there. I would have sworn I had heard sleigh bells while sleeping too. Your blog was effective in demonstrating reality and what we hope reality will be.
I am a first-born child who was born on Christmas Day morning. That's right, my birthday is Christmas Day! My mother delights in telling me the story of how she went into labor on Christmas Eve. No drugs were given to induce labor she explains, I was meant to be born at that moment and at 4:09 am, I was born on Christmas morning. She goes on to relive that the nurses wrapped me in a candy cane blanket and kept asking " did you ever think you would have a baby on Christmas Day?"
So as you can imagine, I have always loved Christmas. Many people through the years have asked me if I hated sharing my birthday with such a major holiday. Honestly, I never did . Maybe being a guy I am just more laid back about that kind of thing? Or it could be that when I saw the tree go up and knew that I would be spending that time with family and friends, it was always fun and joyous time for me. It was sure to be a party on my birthday and not many people spend their actual birthday with their entire family . I never felt ripped off. I think my family never wanted me to feel slighted about the whole Christmas/Birthday thing, they kinda went over board on the separate gifts. One was in birthday wrapping paper, the other in Christmas paper.
I had stopped believing in Santa completely by about the 1st grade. All the kids at school had shared their knowledge that there was no mystical Santa Claus and it just made sense to me. But an interesting thing happened in about 4 th grade. I watched a rerun of a television drama, LA Law and a 10 year old boy was actually suing his parents and took them to court over the misrepresentation of Santa. Something resonated in me as a kid with this. I actually confronted my parents and wanted to know how they could have misled me that way. I resented it. I , like the character, felt betrayed and did not know how my parents, these people I trusted , could have created all these falsehoods and gross exaggerations of Christmas!
Well, as Pluto says, " he would have to become accustomed to this" , I have accepted the reality of the pure efforts of my parents. Elizabeth, you ask, "is it moral to lie to your kids about this?" Even after my brief encounter with my parents' twisting of the truth, I understood that they just wanted me to believe in the magic and spirit of something existing that is bigger than us. And the reward of creating wonderful Christmas memories and of giving. I also realize that it was a learning experience for me to be able to question my parents and to see they welcomed my thinking out of the box on their intentions. I will most likely use some "shadows" when it comes to Santa with my own kids. Not to be deceptive but to instill a sense of wonder about the world. Will I be the one to tell them there is no Santa? That remains to be seen. If I have a child who is begging me for the truth about Santa's true existence and he or she is showing deep anguish about the concept, I would probably tell him the truth. But if I have a child who he seems to be enjoying the enchantment of Old Saint Nick , as I did and so many children do , I would never want to be the one to destroy that incredible fantasy.
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI thought it was very clever comparing Socrates Allegory of the Cave and Santa Claus. An odd combination if you think about it, but you flushed it out well and it really makes sense. What we think is reality vs. what is actually reality can differ greatly, and sometimes it is to our disappointment.
I remember back in the day on Christmas eve, after I went to bed I would quietly tip toe to the top of the stair case, hidden by the darkness upstairs and lay at the top of the stairs. I would watch down as my parent clunked up and down from the basement and carried presents to the bottom of the tree. As butterflies went through my heart I figured that they would put their presents under the tree first and Santa would get here much later. I always had a deep down question about if he actually existed, but I was never too interested in finding out the truth and spoiling Christmas.
I never asked my parents if he existed or not, but at one point, I just came to accept it but never really thought about it. An old man going to every single Christian home in the world in one night being towed by reindeer that can fly seems a little farfetched, even when I was little. Because as cliché as it sounds the real excitement is being home with the family and not having to worry about everything else. Also getting presents is a nice bit of excitement.
You could argue that parents are not lying to you about Santa; instead they are just misleading you. The idea of Santa is what really matters, bringing children happiness, so whether you believe your parents are lying to you is not really relevant.
I also wrote a blog post about how Plato explains the tension between reality and representation. I briefly mentioned Santa and the possible moral implications that lying to children may have. At first it's easy to say I would never lie to my kids. In general, I wouldn't. But also think about what it would feel like if we didn't. Clearly we don't want to build completely false worlds for kids to live in, but what if we enlightened them from the start? Imagine this alternative to your childhood: every other kid believes in the magic of Christmas represented by Santa, but you don't. They rant and rave about how good they were all year because they're finally getting rewarded! But at five years old you know it's just your dad putting on a suit and eating all the cookies once you went to bed. How disappointing.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was younger, I don't remember exactly what age, I tried tricking the tooth fairy. I was suspicious about her to begin with, but I needed to know the truth. I lost a tooth and kept it a secret. I didn't tell anyone, including and especially my parents, because if the tooth fairy were real, she would know. (Mind you this was the hardest kept secret I have ever had to deal with because we all know how exciting this moment is and not sharing it with anyone was complete torture but that's besides the point). The next morning I woke up and there was no money under my pillow. AHA! Got ya, mom.
I confronted her with the truth and she had no choice but to admit there was no tooth fairy, etc. etc. etc. I was bummed, obviously, but believing in such ideas is what makes children so full of youth. With age it becomes harder and harder to deny reality. There comes a point where it's impossible to believe whatever we want. I wouldn't consider this lying; I say we grant our children these years of imagination, because they wont last forever.