tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post7382777198082477083..comments2024-02-13T12:50:30.457-05:00Comments on Rants Within the Undead God: We're the Squishy Monsters!Benjamin Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-42263683458367294722012-01-18T19:59:44.111-05:002012-01-18T19:59:44.111-05:00I think you're asking whether escapist fantasi...I think you're asking whether escapist fantasies can be harmless. They surely can be. I'm a fan of science fiction and that includes some transhuman SF, which deals with immortality and transcendence (the techno singularity). My criticism of delusions is really ethical and aesthetic, which means that what bothers me about delusions is the set of vices they require and foster. If you've got what you call a realistic mindset, and you can detach yourself from your fantasies so that you don't let them weaken your character too much, then you're free to enjoy them and even to work to realize them, without necessarily violating what I'd call some inspiring ethical and aesthetic standards. Indeed, those standards aren't exactly "realistic," which is what makes them normative and idealistic. But an ideal or an entertaining fantasy isn't the same as a delusion (the latter is pejorative).<br><br>Now, if you're talking specifically about quasi-religious fantasies, about immortality and so on, this is a more difficult question in my view. I'm going to be addressing a related issue in an upcoming blog rant, about the difference between optimistic, traditional mysticism and the darker, Lovecraftian kind. I'll have to think this over until then.Benjamin Cainhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00661999592897690031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320802302155582419.post-5790522523751974212012-01-18T18:36:51.247-05:002012-01-18T18:36:51.247-05:00Hm, is it wrong if the fantasies we cling to of im...Hm, is it wrong if the fantasies we cling to of immortality and transcendence are labelled as aspirations and we realistically realize the bleak difficulty and impermanence of the pursuits?Tyciolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12305974455384425337noreply@blogger.com