The child having a positive outcome in the world (meaning the real world of the present, not the world that should be) [...]
Any talk about positive outcomes refers to a world which should be; positive is in your utility function, not in the territory. There is much more to life than happiness and popularity. For myself, I would rather be unhappy and an outcast than bludgeoned into conformity. Maybe Vanyel cherishes his name and his history, and would despise his counterfactual analogue who had been named Mike. You can’t say it would be doing a service to Vanyel to have named him Mike, for if the child had been named Mike, he would have a different childhood and our Vanyel wouldn’t exist. The most you can say is that it’s better to create a Mike than a Vanyel, because Mike is likely to be happier.
All parents try to raise their children with their values. All parents implicitly make some sort of statement by how they raise their children: if we’re going to be talking about statements, then “Christian” is far more egregious than “Vanyel.” The question is not whether the parents are going to send a message, the question is whether mainstream messages and unusual messages are of equal moral legitimacy. If you’re going to say “No, because children whose parents are sending unusual messages are more likely to be unhappy, and I don’t want children to be unhappy, even if it means crushing minority subcultures,” fine. Give in to the bullies honestly and explicitly, but don’t pretend that sneers about vanity plates don’t apply just as well to Christian’s parents.
Any talk about positive outcomes refers to a world which should be; positive is in your utility function, not in the territory. There is much more to life than happiness and popularity. For myself, I would rather be unhappy and an outcast than bludgeoned into conformity. Maybe Vanyel cherishes his name and his history, and would despise his counterfactual analogue who had been named Mike. You can’t say it would be doing a service to Vanyel to have named him Mike, for if the child had been named Mike, he would have a different childhood and our Vanyel wouldn’t exist. The most you can say is that it’s better to create a Mike than a Vanyel, because Mike is likely to be happier.
All parents try to raise their children with their values. All parents implicitly make some sort of statement by how they raise their children: if we’re going to be talking about statements, then “Christian” is far more egregious than “Vanyel.” The question is not whether the parents are going to send a message, the question is whether mainstream messages and unusual messages are of equal moral legitimacy. If you’re going to say “No, because children whose parents are sending unusual messages are more likely to be unhappy, and I don’t want children to be unhappy, even if it means crushing minority subcultures,” fine. Give in to the bullies honestly and explicitly, but don’t pretend that sneers about vanity plates don’t apply just as well to Christian’s parents.
Actually, given how often (anecdotally speaking) children named Christian turn out atheist, that may indeed be giving them a positive outcome...