Santa Claus & The Problem Of Evil

Jimmy Alfonso Licon engages in a little Santodicy for Christmas.

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There are many profound philosophical issues involving Santa. For example, we might wonder how we know that Santa doesn’t exist. That is, although it seems obvious that there is no Santa, the reasons usually given for this disbelief are less sound than is often appreciated. In this article I want to explore an argument against Santa that shares a number of features with the problem of evil that has long troubled theologians. This argument against Santa is one way we can know that he doesn’t exist, but without the same vulnerabilities that the usual reasons have.

Bad Arguments Against Santa

First let’s survey some of the usual reasons people give for thinking that there is no Santa.

Some say that disproving the Santa belief is a simple matter of visiting the North Pole and looking for him. There would be no Santa to be found. However, it could be that Santa’s workshop is disguised to avoid detection, even by the most sophisticated methods; after all, Santa is supposedly capable of doing all sorts of other extraordinary things. So, even if Santa resided there, he might not be easily detected.

Others say that it would be impossible for Santa to deliver gifts to children around the globe within the space of a single night. This is only a difficulty if we think that Santa is an ordinary human. But that can’t be right. Santa cannot be merely human; after all, he relies on flying reindeer for transportation! If Santa had extraordinary powers, then he might be able deliver gifts, the world over, in such a short time. We might for example suppose that Santa has the ability to slow down time.