Do People Benefit from Using Fantasy or Illusion to Deal with Their Problems - Essay Example

Do people benefit from using fantasy or illusion to deal with their problems? Introduction People deal with their problems in a myriad of ways. While some may try to solve theirs using realistic and practical ways, others prefer fantasy or illusion. Fantasy can be described as a creation of one’s imagination. A fantasy can be a creative mental image that person may dwell on for a long time. This fanciful thought may be a reflection of the individual’s conscious or even unconscious wishes. The oxford dictionary describes fantasy as “an idea with no basis in reality”. There is a very thin line between the meanings of fantasy and illusion, and many people take the two words to mean the same thing. An illusion can be described as a type of sensory distortion that is very specific, or a deceptive appearance. According to the oxford dictionary, an illusion is “an instance of a wrong or misinterpreted perception of a sensory experience”. The same dictionary describes an illusion as a deceptive impression or appearance. Some people argue that using fantasy or illusion to deal with problems is better that using reality. In many instances, people are never aware that they are using fantasy to deal with a situation in their life. As Gilbert says, “people are typically unaware of the reasons why they are doing what they are doing” (2). This goes to highlight the fact that fantasy, and even illusion, are just perceptions of the mind which are not necessarily based on any form of reality. The question therefore, is why people strive toward a positive view of any given situation, even when that situation is not positive as it looks? In today’s society, the concept of self worth is pegged on how happy one is with their life. The world today is filled with many problems, with some of them being so serious that they affect one’s outlook on life. The troubles that one is facing in life may force him or her to “cook facts” so that he may find quick solutions, or what may seem to be solutions to the problems (Gilbert 135). Some people do benefit from using fantasy and/or illusion to deal with their problems. Nafisi was teaching in a college situated in Tehran the Iranian capital. Like many other Islamic states, Iran follows strict Islamic Sharia laws in all aspects of life. “this class was the color of my dreams” (Nafisi 8). Nafisi, in an effort to get away from the real world and the harshness that came with living in Tehran as a woman, created a class of her own where she conducted classes freely in a way that she could not in reality. To Nafisi, the class that she had created presented an alternative world to the one she was used to. Her class was her own way of retreating into another life where things went just the way she wanted them to. Nafisa’s case is a good example of how people use fantasies to escape certain realities in search of certain types of happiness and satisfaction. Her aim was not to change reality, but more to challenge it. This is true for some people who enter fantasy worlds, not as a way of changing their present situations, but as a way of challenging life as they know it. Nafisa created her own perfect class, with perfect students and this creation made her happy. This is the same benefit that many people who strive to create fantastic worlds are likely to get. A sense of satisfaction that they cannot get in the real world is the only benefit that comes with fantasizing. Nafisa gets into her fantasy world as she tries to challenge the events that occur in her reality. In the same way, people normally use fantasy and illusion as a means by which they challenge their situation. Fantasy makes one question why things are the way they are and not the way they want them to be. In the course of trying to find answers to reality, one is likely to gain a certain level of understanding that they could not have had it not been their challenging of reality. On the other hand, fantasy may result to depression and related reaction especially when one realizes that those idyllic things in the fantasy world are just one’s imaginations, they are not real. According to Bielik-Robson, illusion is very different from fantasy. In psychoanalytical studies, the concept of illusion has a somewhat negative tone than fantasy does (1). However, both fantasy and illusion share something in common: they are a diversion from reality. The simple fact that fantasy and illusion are not real is attractive in itself for many people. In many instances, people would rather not deal with what is real and natural. They prefer creating their own perfect worlds where everything happens as they want it to. A fantasy or illusion allows individuals to change a bad situation into a good one. In other words, fantasy and illusion give people a sense of control which they wish they had in the real world. For some people this falsified sense of reality may last for a long time, but for others it is often short lived. The extent to which one may consider fantasy and illusion beneficial would depend on their general world view. For instance, if one thinks that he world is essentially a good place to live in, where there is no hate, or war or hunger, then the kind of fantasy that he will create will reflect the kind of world he would like to be in. the fantasy is likely to be filled with happy things in life and whether intentionally or not, this fantasy is likely to influence the individual’s attitude towards life. A person with positive fantasies or illusions about life is likely to have a more positive outlook on life than one with negative fantasies. Generally speaking, one’s fantasies and illusions have the potential to influence how he lives out his real life and how he deals with different situations that may come his way. Sometimes people do cook facts to satisfy their needs and/or wants at a certain moment in time. Depending on the situation, sometimes individuals in the fantasy world may recognize the difference between fantasy and reality or they may not (Gilbert 135). Awareness of a fantasy or an illusion normally does not have the same satisfactory results as lack of awareness of the same. Gilbert says that people never realize when they are generating creative responses or views of their experiences, and therefore, they do not know that they might do the same thing in future. He sates that our fantasies and illusions are conceived by the eyes and the brain and we do not have to necessarily have to know about this conceptions. He says, “the eye and the brain are conspirators, and like most conspiracies, theirs is negotiated behind closed doors, in the backroom, outside or our awareness”. (176). This is to say that many people are normally not aware of their fantasies and whether or not the fantasies benefit them. If people are unaware of their fantasies and illusions, this would have a certain consequence on their personal and social experiences. The level of awareness of one’s fantasies determines how they deal with the real issues in life. This means that fantasies determine and to a great extent determine one’s reality. People have a way of using their fantasies to deal with their realities. However, fantasy cannot replace reality and what is real will always remain as it is. Conclusion The fantasy world provides a means by which people can get away from what is happening around them. Fantasy allows one to mentally transport oneself from one ugly situation to another that he would rather be in. However, fantasy does not in any way take the place of reality. What is naturally real remains real, but fantasy just makes one think that it is not real. The world of fantasy offers possibilities that are not limited in any way. One is free to create his or her own unique universe and personal sense of reality without any limitation on how they do it. In other words fantasy allows one to make life as he wants it to be, not as it should be. While there are people who find the fantasy world better than the real one, the truth is fantasy and illusions will never replace reality. The things that re naturally real will always remain so and an individual’s creative imagination cannot change that. People normally find it easier living in a fantasy world since it is flexible and personalized, one can change their situations as they see fit. However, in the real world, situations cannot be changed, and whatever is remains as it is. Fantasy and illusion may be necessary for making people forget certain situation, but they are not and can never be the solution to real problems that need to be solved using realistic means. Works Cited Bielik-Robson, Agata. The Future of a Fantasy. 2010. Web. June 12, 2011. http://www.uiowa.edu/~iwp/EVEN/documents/BielikFantasyandReality.pdf Gilbert, Daniel. Stumbling on Happiness. Toronto: Knopf Canada, 2007. Nafisi, A. Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books. New York: Random House Publishing Group,2003. Oxford Dictionary. Definitions of Illusion and Fantasy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. Read More