Why Fantasy Matters

“In very truth, a wise imagination, which is the presence of the spirit of God, is the best guide that man or woman can have; for it is not the things we see the most clearly that influence us the most powerfully; undefined, yet vivid visions of something beyond, something which eye has not seen nor ear heard, have far more influence than any logical sequences whereby the same things may be demonstrated to the intellect.” (George MacDonald, Dish of Orts)

The Wise Imagination: Why Fantasy is the Antidote to a “Flat” World

In our data-driven, post-truth culture, we are often told that the only things that matter are facts. We rely on logic to determine what is “real” and skepticism to debunk what is “fake.” As a teacher, I’ve noticed a growing crisis in the classroom: a “flatness” of the soul. When we prioritize the observations of the mind (logic) over the observations of intuition (imagination), we don’t just lose our sense of wonder—we lose our ability to recognize Truth.

The Victorian author George MacDonald, a mentor to C.S. Lewis, believed that a “Wise Imagination” was the presence of the Spirit of God within us. He argued that it is our best guide because “it is not the things we see the most clearly that influence us the most powerfully.”

Fact vs. Truth: The Great Distinction

We often confuse these two terms, but as Madeleine L’Engle famously wrote, “Truth and fact are not the same thing.”

Facts are observable, measurable data points.
Truth goes through and beyond facts.

In the classroom, I often tell my students that while a fantasy novel might not be “factual” (dragons don’t exist in the biology lab), it can be profoundly True. Fantasy provides a sacramental lens, a connection between the reader and the Divine, directing our vision toward the source of all Beauty and Truth.

The Anatomy of the Moral Imagination

The term “moral imagination” originally comes from Edmund Burke. It describes the idea that any education meant to shape a life must include the imagination. Think of the imaginative power as a muscle. As author Vigen Guroian warns, these powers “must be exercised properly… lest they either atrophy or grow grotesquely.”

When we rely exclusively on cold logic, we risk becoming what C.S. Lewis called “Men Without Chests”—intellectuals who can calculate costs but cannot feel the weight of objective value.

Waking Up the Soul

Good fantasy communicates a sense of awe about the mysteries of the world. It challenges readers to bravely explore the darkness through the strength of their own moral imagination.

MacDonald once wrote:

“The best thing you can do for your fellow, next to rousing his conscience, is—not to give him things to think about, but to wake things up that are in him.”

As educators and readers, our goal shouldn’t be to simply fill minds with “things to think about.” Our goal should be an awakening. By cultivating a Wise Imagination, we open our eyes to the vision of the Divine in both nature and humanity. We learn to see the world not as a collection of data, but as a signpost pointing toward home.

The Wise Imagination