For centuries, Santa Claus has proved to be a pervasive, persistent and influential mythic figure who dominates children’s lives for several weeks each year. But unlike most other fantasy figures, Santa Claus is presented as a real entity, a feat achieved through the widespread deception of children. This deception primarily involves a child’s family, but is also encouraged and maintained by wider society and its institutions. That educators could involve themselves in such a deception seems particularly controversial. Given their role as providers of epistemic goods, it appears like a dereliction of duty for them to seemingly encourage credulity and to deceive their students to maintain their false beliefs. However, I argue that there are epistemic benefits that can reaped by children through their experience of believing in Santa Claus and the process of independently disabusing themselves of these beliefs. For these benefits to be attained, educators must reluctantly engage in low-level paternalistic deception to keep their students in the dark about the truth, before then actively helping them to learn important epistemic lessons and foster key intellectual virtues as a result of their experiences. This justifies educators’ modest involvement in the Santa Claus deception.

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圣诞老人的欺骗：教育者参与的伦理

几个世纪以来，圣诞老人已被证明是一个无处不在、持久且有影响力的神话人物，每年都会有几个星期主宰着孩子们的生活。但与大多数其他幻想人物不同，圣诞老人被呈现为一个真实的实体，这是通过广泛欺骗儿童实现的壮举。这种欺骗主要涉及儿童的家庭，但也受到更广泛的社会及其机构的鼓励和维护。教育者可能卷入这种欺骗似乎特别有争议。鉴于他们作为认知品提供者的角色，他们似乎在鼓励轻信并欺骗学生以维持他们的错误信念，这似乎是一种失职。然而，我认为，孩子们可以通过他们相信圣诞老人的经历以及独立地消除这些信念的过程而获得认知上的好处。为了获得这些好处，教育工作者必须不情愿地参与低水平的家长式欺骗，让他们的学生对真相一无所知，然后再积极帮助他们学习重要的认知课程，并根据他们的经验培养关键的智力美德。这证明教育工作者适度参与圣诞老人的欺骗是合理的。在此之前，积极帮助他们学习重要的认知课程，并根据他们的经验培养关键的智力美德。这证明教育工作者适度参与圣诞老人的欺骗是合理的。在此之前，积极帮助他们学习重要的认知课程，并根据他们的经验培养关键的智力美德。这证明教育工作者适度参与圣诞老人的欺骗是合理的。