Researcher ORCID Identifier

0009-0007-4022-3507

Graduation Year

2024

Date of Submission

12-2024

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Philosophy and Public Affairs

Reader 1

Amy Kind

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Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Rights Information

© 2024 Xinyi Ding

Abstract

Can someone be held morally accountable for her fantasy alone? The directive for this paper is to explore whether fantasies can be morally problematic, and if so, in what ways they are morally problematic. In this paper, I attempt to defend that fantasies are not inherently morally bad, regardless of its content, meaning that evil fantasies do not necessarily make one morally bad. In Chapter 1, I provide the foundational background for my paper by defining the terms and evaluating common viewpoints on fantasy ethics. In Chapter 2, I introduce the concept of desires within fantasies to further investigate the question at hand. I conclude that fantasies are not morally problematic in virtue of its content with a consequentialist view. In the last chapter, I shift my focus to videogames as a practical application of my fantasy ethic theories. I investigate whether players are morally accountable for their virtual actions. Ultimately, this paper attempts to defend that as long as fantasies are not acted upon, they do not make someone morally problematic.

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