Make A Wish

[bluethread]

Some atheists seem to find theism mere fantasy and therefore do not grant quarter to theism. Make A Wish is a foundation that provides special experiences to people who do not have long to live. Sometimes they foster a fantasy lifestyle. The question is, would an atheist, who follows moral realism, say to those who do not have long to live, "You know this is fantasy, right?" On short, is it moral to permit individuals to spend their last days or months living a fantasy?

[unfogged]

[Replying to post 1 by bluethread]

It would never have occurred to me that anybody in that position wouldn't already know that they are being given a chance to live as if the fantasy were real. There's nothing immoral about indulging a fantasy as long as it doesn't negatively impact others. I'm not interested in stopping anybody from enjoying a fantasy; I'm opposed to anybody demanding that others accept or respect that a fantasy is reality.

[keithprosser3]

In a small way it happens like that anyway.

Most people - theist or atheist - would tell a dying person a 'white lie' to make them happy in their last moments rather than tell them a truth which might hurt them.

I would certainly send someone on their way with what they want to hear rather than standing on my dignity and telling only the truth come what may - I am not that much of a Kantian!

[Divine Insight]

Life can indeed be a living fantasy for many people. And I when I say that I don't mean that it needs to be fake in any way. If a person has a dream and achieves that dream then they are living out their "fantasy". In fact, they are indeed manifesting their fantasy into real life.

Fantasies can become real if we make them so.

This of course requires that at least two things be in place.

1. The fantasy itself is within the bounds of the natural world.

2. There aren't any external circumstances that are blocking the way for this fantasy to become manifest.

In the case of #1, obviously if your fantasy is to fly around without the aid of any technological equipment you're not going to bring that fantasy into reality.

So your fantasies must be within the realm of possibility.

In the case of #2, that's a given. We know there are criminals, and even extremely oppressive lunatics who may even pass as "socially acceptable" clergy, parents, or spouses, etc.

It's going to be difficult to make your fantasies come true if you are locked in a dungeon somewhere being tormented beyond your ability to escape that predicament. Or, for some children, it's just a matter of having abusive parents, etc. Some adults are even psychologically oppressed by the religious beliefs of their cultures. Women of Islam certainly come to my mind as a prime example. Although I guess it was also true of women of Christianity not long ago.

But yes, given sovereignty in a free world without oppression, there's really no reason why you shouldn't be able to achieve your dreams. And isn't that really all that fantasy truly amounts to? Achieving your dreams?