The Case Against Santa →
Santa keeps tabs on what you do and when you sleep. He will punish or reward you on the basis of your performance. So you should be good for purely moral motives. The trouble, again, is that after having given a variety of non-moral, strictly self-interested reasons to act, it is a perfect non sequitur to conclude that we must act on the basis of purely moral motives. In fact, if we’re right, the Santa myth undermines the idea that we should act on the basis of our moral reasons. By accepting the Santa myth, then, we nearly ensure that we will not be good.
Jaimie • 1 month ago
And no mention of Krampus?
Mike • 1 month ago
But, then that complicates the motivations doesn’t it? You’re good because you want to receive the rich rewards of those actions, but also because you want to avoid being eaten.
There’s a more serious conversation about this lurking in there somewhere.