umanists have adopted a rational, scientific world-view that has no

place for supernatural or magical think-ing. What role then does fantasy have in the lives of humanists? Albert Einstein considered imagination more important than knowledge. Psychologist Jerome Singer calls imagination a vital human function. He claims that fantasies and daydreams may be the foundation of serenity and purpose in our lives, playing a basic role in healthy human develop-ment. A well-developed fantasy life seems to be partly responsible for inde-pendence, tranquillity, and realism. Studies indicate that those who are less apt to use fantasy to enrich their experi-ences, to solve problems, or as a substi-tute for aggression are at greater risk for problems such as delinquency, violence, and drug abuse. Perhaps ironically, Singer found that children with active fantasy lives appear to have a stronger grasp of reality and facts than those with undeveloped fantasy lives.' Science fic-tion and fairy tales are fantasies that can excite our imagination.

Science Fiction

Pau] Kurtz has charged that science fic-tion is "forever flirting" with the

realm of the transcendental. It nourishes "quasi-religious probings" of unknown universes, creating new mythological beings such as "psychic superstars" and "semi-divine creatures." Finally, he says that science fiction stimulates belief in the paranormal and pseudoscience, leading to a basic confusion between "the ideal and the actual, the possible and the real."'

While Kurtz's misgivings about sci-

Kenneth Marsalek is president of Wash-ington Area Secular Humanists, Inc.

"Science fiction literature coincides with the technological

revolution of the nineteenth century as science began serving

as a new foundation for belief."

ence fiction are justified, he focuses on only its negative potential. I wish to fur-ther examine his claim that science fiction flirts with the transcendental, which I agree with, and to present the positive case for science fiction. In my opinion, humanity's transcendental temptation owes more to cultural conditioning than to our genetic makeup. Isaac Asimov said that we are so surrounded by tales of the supernatural, and those attempting to con-vince us of their truth that we are all sus-ceptible to its influence' Long ago, I rec-ognized that I myself satisfy my transcen-dental temptation through science fiction rather than religion.

The science fiction history The World Beyond the Hill—Science Fiction and the Quest for Transcendence by Alexei and Cory Panshin focuses on the transcenden-tal nature of science fiction. The following is largely based on this book. According to the authors, the origin and evolution of science fiction can be understood as the

re-establishment of myth based on science rather than the supernatural. From the start, science fiction has been the mythic literature for the rational, scientific, tech-nological, and materialistic culture that has arisen since the Renaissance. The transcendent powers of science fiction are scientific rather than magical. It is popu-lated by aliens, androids, and mutants from other planets and dimensions rather than by spirits and demons from heaven and hell.

In the seventeenth century, Shake-speare wrote of witches, ghosts, and magic and Milton wrote of heaven and hell. But by the end of the century, the last witch had been executed in England and, with the growth of scientific rationalism, literature concerning the supernatural became increasingly implausible. Science fiction evolved to fill the void. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, published in 1818, was one of the earliest attempts to present transcendent power in scientific form.

Science fiction literature coincides with the technological revolution of the nineteenth century as science began serv-ing as a new foundation for belief. Jules Verne, perhaps the father of science fic-tion, expressed the awe of new scientific discoveries in the fields of geology, pale-ontology, and evolutionary biology. H.G. Wells, a student of Thomas Huxley, was totally committed to science. The soul and the spirit had no place in his scientific uni-verse. Wells believed that, in order to sur-vive, we must change our nature, become scientific, and assume control of our own destiny.

Victorian England was fascinated by the ancient civilizations discovered by science. As magic and legend were removed from history they were replaced in literature by stories of technology. In H. Rider Haggard's novel entitled She, published in 1887, the main character's seemingly magical powers are revealed to be scientific. The character says, ".. . it is no magic; that is a fiction of igno-rance. There is no such thing as magic, though there is such a thing as knowl-edge of the secrets of Nature."' Science fiction examined and addressed the fears of the new world presented by science. It continues to play this same role today and is similar to the role that fairy tales play for children.

Humanism, Science Fiction, and Fairy Tales

Kenneth Marsalek

Summer 1995 39

Edgar Rice Burroughs, a Darwinian, was the first great science fiction innova-tor in the twentieth century. In his second Mars story, The Gods of Mars, "... [John] Carter exposes the exploitative religion of Mars with its false priests, false gods, and false hereafter."5 The importance of these stories should not be dismissed. Although today they would more likely be classified as fantasy rather than science fiction, they served as the inspiration for Carl Sagan and many others.

Science fiction lost favor when World War I destroyed its promise of a utopian future and the rational advance of humankind. Americans who recognized that science was the only way to transform reality became the new leaders of science fiction. In the mid-1920s, science fiction was addressing the nature of humankind's relationship with society and the universe. Those who viewed science fiction . as a godless, soulless, materialistic literature found it offensive.

Hugo Gernsback rejected the super-natural and wished to promote both sci-entists and science. He began publishing Amazing Stories in 1926, capitalizing on the fact that, at the same time that sci-ence was dismissing the soul as supersti-tion, it was preparing to reveal "... an awesome new transcendence of its own [i.e.,] ... the existence of a universe that was more immense than man had ever previously suspected, and that was possi-bly more alien than he was prepared to tolerate."6

John Campbell, Isaac Asimov's first editor, was the chief architect of modern science fiction. Campbell saw science as the most reliable source of knowledge about the universe. He was the first to rec-ognize science fiction as modern myth with the power of myth to change the world. In a 1938 editorial in Astounding Science-Fiction, Campbell said, "We pre-suppose, in these stories, two things: that there is yet to be learned infinitely more than is now known, and that Man can learn it."' Ironically, Campbell maintained a lifelong interest in the paranormal that began at Yale where he served as a subject in one of J.B. Rhine's ESP experiments. The promise of science fiction of the Golden Age was that, if we continuously change the way we think, we could build a meaningful world and humankind

would continue to evolve. Probably the most bizarre case in sci-

ence fiction history was L. Ron Hubbard, a writer from the Golden Age who later established the pseudoscience religion of Scientology. Hubbard began writing sci-ence fiction with no background in either science fiction or science, but with an interest in the occult and the hidden pow-ers of the mind. Today, some science fic-tion writers, such as alien abductor advo-cate Whitley Strieber, abuse science fic-tion by promoting it as fact. The television series "The X Files" misuses science fic-tion to promote belief in the paranormal and the myth of government cover-ups. The program is presented as though the stories come from the case files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It encourages empathy for the believer, while the skeptic is portrayed as one who has not yet seen the light.

"Perhaps those of us who do not view ancient myths

as a source of inspiration can still be inspired by science fiction's

bold and promising vision of humanity's future."

Recognizing these shortcomings, what then are the beneficial aspects of science fiction? Perhaps most important is its abil-ity to broaden our perspective by allowing us to view ourselves from the vantage point of different times and places. We learn about humans by studying other pri-mates; likewise, we learn about ourselves by studying Vulcans and Klingons. The best science fiction is based on science and often stimulates an interest in science. However, it is also beneficial to examine views from the perspective of fantasy. Therefore, I enjoy such standard science fiction fare as warp drive, teleportation, aliens with telepathic powers, human/ alien hybrids, time travel, and cloned dinosaurs. Science fiction does not pur-port to present reality. For this reason I can accept elements of pseudoscience and the paranormal in science fiction, but I strongly object to its presence in regular fiction.

Another benefit of science fiction is its role in preparing us for the future. I con-sider it future-shock prevention literature.

Readers of science fiction are exposed to the dilemmas of new technologies and revised social norms and their moral implications long before they become real-ity. Those who anticipate the inevitable changes that the future will bring will be better prepared to meet the challenges. Science fiction also serves as a warning by exposing us to potential horrors, such as nuclear and environmental catastrophes.

Jules Verne said, "Whatever one man is capable of imaging, other men will prove themselves capable of realizing." Like-wise, William Blake said, "What is now proved true was once only imagined." This leads to the final benefit of science fiction, which is its ability to inspire us to achieve, not only the technological won-ders it presents, but the improved social conditions portrayed, such as racial and sexual equality and world peace and coop-eration. Perhaps those of us who do not view ancient myths as a source of inspira-tion can still be inspired by science fic-tion's bold and promising vision of humanity's future.

Fairy Tales

ccording to the late Bruno ttelheim, "... the most important

and also the most difficult task in raising a child is helping him to find meaning in life."" Humanists have a particular interest in how to find meaning in life because we do not resort to the usual supernatural explanations. Bettelheim found fairy tales useful in this regard. The following dis-cussion is based on Bettelheim's theories as presented in The Uses of Enchantment —The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (1975). While there is much in this book that I strongly disagree with, it is essential for the rationalist to consider his basic message, i.e., the importance and necessity of fantasy.

As we saw with science fiction, a cen- tral theme in many fairy tales is transcen-dence. According to Bettelheim, a child must believe that a higher state is obtain- able in order to develop and mature prop-erly. In order to be able to deal with prob- lems, he or she must believe that a positive outcome is certain, regardless of its true chances. Fantasies enable the toleration of the frustrations of life, providing hope that he or she can meet life's hardships.

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Fairy tales stimulate a child's imagina-tion and ability to fantasize. Their most important element is consolation. A child's "unrealistic fears require the unre-alistic hopes" that the fairy tale offers.' They provide confidence that he or she can conquer both real dangers and unreal dangers that are feared. Fairy tales pro-vide a way for a child to express his anxi-eties and cope with them. Like the fairy tale hero, a child may feel outcast and abandoned, but obtains help and guidance when needed, and, therefore, hope that he or she can succeed.

Fairy tales portray the process involved in healthy human development, depicting the essential steps in growing up and relinquishing dependency. They symboli-cally address basic problems, such as dealing with responsibility and ambiva-lent emotions. The child is exposed to both the sunny and dark sides of human nature. He or she is shown how to live with the many conflicts of life and warned of some dangers that can be expected and perhaps avoided. They do not advise what the child should do but allow him or her to find his or her own solution. The convic-tion that problems can be solved provides an optimistic view of the future that is necessary for developing self-confidence and self-respect.

A child learns many lessons from fairy tales, such as persevering despite the many setbacks along the way. They pre-sent the child with a choice of whether to be ruled by reason or emotion. "The Three Little Pigs" warns against laziness, sug-gesting that success requires both plan-ning and hard work. Many fairy tales demonstrate the tragic consequences of careless wishes and warn that anger and impatience lead to trouble. Bettelheim believed that children find the cruel pun-ishment depicted in fairy tales both fitting and reassuring rather than upsetting.

In a chapter entitled "The Child's Need For Magic," Bettelheim maintained that many parents ignore scientific evidence concerning how the minds of preschoolers work—expecting them to function as adults. A child's ideas about the meaning of life develop slowly as he or she begins to understand conflicting emotions and gradually learns not to act impulsively on them. He or she begins to understand con-scious and unconscious thoughts not

through rational reflection but by fantasiz-ing about them. A child experiences the world subjectively until he or she learns to understand abstract concepts. For this rea-son, realistic explanations are generally incomprehensible and scientific explana-tions are confusing. While a child may parrot scientific explanations, he or she will not understand them. For this reason, he or she finds the myth of the Earth rest-ing on a turtle more satisfying than an explanation that it revolves in space.

Bettelheim wrote much about the need to nurture fantasies during childhood. A child finds the "fantastic exaggerations" of fairy tales more acceptable and com-forting than realistic explanations. New reasoning abilities are overwhelmed by anxieties, hopes, and fears. Fantasy fills the gaps in understanding. "The unrealis-

"While I am not advocating political correctness, fairy tales

lose their usefulness as a teaching device if they perpetuate stereotypes, promote excessive

violence, or sanction magical thinking."

tic nature of these tales (which narrow-minded rationalists object to) is an impor-tant device, because it makes obvious that the fairy tale's concern is not useful infor-mation about the external world, but the inner processes taking place in an individ-ual.°70 Fairy tales do not intend to accu-rately describe reality, but to serve as sym-bols of psychological events or problems.

Addressing the concern that exposure to fairy tales will lead a child to believe in magic, Bettelheim states that all children believe in magic and most stop doing so when they grow up. He found children exposed to fantasy were more likely to learn to cope with reality than children not so exposed. After the age of five, a child understands that such stories are not true. Fairy tales take the child on a wonderful voyage and reassuringly return him or her to reality. This teaches that temporarily engaging in fantasy is fine. Such fantasies cannot and should not be repressed.

While we cannot promise children per-fect happiness, Bettelheim said that par-ents can allow children to obtain hope from fairy tales without suggesting that

they are true. Until a child is convinced that he or she will be protected by those around him or her, belief in superior beings, such as guardian angels, is required. The belief provides security and does not prevent later acceptance of ratio-nal explanations. Stories that closely por-tray reality are more confusing to a child. Childhood is the time to learn to bridge the gap between our inner experiences and the real world. A child must be exposed to fantasy to learn the difference between it and reality. "Before a child can come to grips with reality, he must have some frame of reference to evaluate it.""

Freud suggested the use of thought experiments to explore possibilities with-out the risk involved in actual experi-ments. Jerome Singer concurs that it is sometimes more sensible to think and fan-tasize about an activity than to actually perform it. Fairy tales provide characters that a child can use to project both posi-tive and negative feelings onto without harm. Offering rationality as the primary means for dealing with his or her feelings and understanding the world is unneces-sarily restrictive. Fairy tales serve the same purpose for children that dreams and daydreams do for adults. Similar themes include having wishes fulfilled, beating competitors, and destroying enemies. Just as a person deprived of dreaming loses touch with reality, the same is true of a child deprived of fairy tales. According to Bettelheim, children who do not experi-ence fantasy are more likely to evade real-ity as adults.

Bettelheim found it desirable that our lives parallel the evolution of science. Gods provided early man with a sense of security. As scientific and technological progress freed us from the fear of exis-tence, we began to question our images of God. In times of stress, we revert to the "childish notion" that we are the center of the universe. "... [T]he more secure a person feels within the world, the less he will need to hold on to `infantile' projec-tions —mythical explanations or fairy tale solutions to life's eternal problems—and the more he can afford to seek rational explanations."12 The more secure we are with ourself, the more we can accept our cosmic insignificance. ". . .[T]he more deeply unhappy and despairing we are, the more we need to be able to engage in

Summer 1995 41

optimistic fantasies.... While the fantasy is unreal, the good feelings it gives us about ourselves and our future are real, and these ... sustain us."" Bettelheim appears to say that it is juvenile to retain supernatural beliefs into adulthood.

Although he does not address the issue, Bettelheim's views offer interest-ing insights if applied to the adult reli-gious believer. For example, he says that true stories about the real world are as "alien" to the way a "... child's mind functions as the supernatural events of the fairy tale are to the way the mature intel-lect comprehends the world."" He acknowledges that belief in a guardian angel "... can be limiting to the mind if clung to for too long."15 Finally, he says that "... in order to be able to deal with the tasks of living, [the total personality] needs to be backed up by a rich fantasy combined with a firm consciousness and a clear grasp of reality."16

My understanding of Bettelheim is that he was not advocating belief in magic but exposure to fantasy. In this we agree. It is in many of the details that I part company with Bettelheim. He acknowledges that fairy tales originated when religion was an important part of life, include religious themes, and are similar to Bible stories. While he appeared as comfortable with religious fairy tales as with others, the lessons taught in such tales could easily be made without resorting to religious mythology. For example, I would not use stories about guardian angels to assure my son that he is secure in the world. Given a choice of fantasies, I would prefer that he fantasize that the Power Rangers will pro-tect him. There is no chance that he will continue to believe in Power Ranger pro-tection as an adult while there is a good chance he may continue to believe in guardian angels simply because it is socially acceptable to do so.

While I agree that providing detailed scientific explanations to children may be futile, I oppose presenting mythology, such as the turtle theory about the Earth, as fact. Rather, I suggest providing a sci- entific explanation tailored to the child's age and reaction. Bettelheim finds many meaningful messages for children in tradi- tional fairy tales. However, many of his interpretations, which are based on a far-

fetched Freudianism, are bizarre and filled with sexual imagery. His dissection of fairy tales for their messages reminds me of the efforts to find deep hidden meaning in the lyrics of the songs of the Beatles, who acknowledged that they were just nonsense. Neither do I always agree with Bettelheim's interpretations. For example, he implies that the fantasy aspects of "Jack and the Beanstalk" are a dream. He asserts that Jack obtained his fortune through courage and learned that he could not rely on magic to solve problems. In my view, Jack obtained his fortune through a combination of magic and theft; his mother's skepticism of magic beans proved to be misplaced.

Bettelheim maintained a confidence in the classic fairy tales that I do not share. Developed by pre-literate and pre-scientific societies, such tales require revision to remain relevant today. While I am not advocating political correctness, fairy tales lose their usefulness as a teach-ing device if they perpetuate stereotypes, promote excessive violence, or sanction

"Just as a person deprived of dreaming loses touch with reality,

the same is true of a child deprived of fairy tales."

magical thinking. Maria Tatar states in opposition to Bettelheim that no fairy tale text is sacred-that most tales began as ribald oral stories that have been repeat-edly revised. She argues that many tales perpetuate anachronistic and inappropri-ate views of what is good, admirable, humorous, or what is proper behavior. Fairy tales contain appalling violence and punishments, including graphic descrip-tions of murder, infanticide, cannibalism, mutilation, and incest." Psychiatrist Allan Chinen's study of 2,500 fairy tales found that the only positive adult characters are usually the good fairy godmother and the wise old man with supernatural powers." A sampling of the pre-Walt Disney sani-tized versions of fairy tales are presented in What Your First Grader Needs To Know-Fundamentals of a Good First Grade Education.19 In my view, there is no merit in perpetuating these archaic versions.

Like science fiction, fantasy and fairy

tales provide us with an outside perspec-tive. Reading such stories does not imply that they are literally true anymore than cartoons imply that animals really talk. Children and adults alike daydream and engage in fantasy. Fantasizing is part of being human, perhaps part of our coping mechanism. From the humanist perspec-tive, fantasy becomes a danger when it is presented as fact. Many of us have experi-enced the difficulty in rejecting such fan-tasies later in life. Some adults never do; rather, they build cathedrals and temples to house the fantasies they were raised to believe as true. Our repulsion to magical thinking must not lead us to condemn or suppress fantasy. Rather, we must distin-guish between using fantasy as an imagi-native learning tool and promoting magi-cal thinking. An active fantasy life, cou-pled with basic critical thinking skills, are essential ingredients for a child's develop-ment and education. Perhaps this combi-nation will enable children to learn where to properly draw the line between fantasy and reality.

Notes

1. Jerome L. Singer, Psychology Today, "Fantasy: The Foundation of Serenity," (July, 1976) pp. 32-37.

2. Paul Kurtz, The Transcendental Temptation (Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1986) pp. 12 and 358, and The New Skepticism: Inquiry and Reliable Knowledge (Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1992) p. 10.

3. Isaac Asimov, I. Asimov-A Memoir (New York: Doubleday, 1994) p. 13.

4. Alexei and Cory Panshin, The World Beyond the Hill-Science Fiction and the Quest for Transcendence (Los Angeles: Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc., 1989) p. 99.

5. Panshin, p. 137. 6. Panshin, p. 194. 7. Panshin, p. 271. 8. Bruno Bettelheim, The Uses of Enchant-

ment-The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (New York: Vintage Books, 1975) p. 3.

9. Bettelheim, p. 133. 10. Bettelheim, p. 25. 11. Bettelheim, p. 117. 12. Bettelheim, p. 51. 13. Bettelheim, p. 126. 14. Bettelheim, p. 53. 15. Bettelheim, p. 50. 16. Bettelheim, p. 118. 17. Maria Tatar, The Hard Facts of the Grimms'

Fairy Tales (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1987) and Off With Their Heads!-Fairy Tales and the Culture of Childhood (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1992).

18. Barbara Burtoff, The Washington Post, "The Ageless Message of Fairy Tales" (June 2, 1986).

19. E. D. Hirsch, Jr., ed., What Your 1st Grader Needs To Know-Fundamentals of a Good First Grade Education (New York: Doubleday, 1991).

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