Purpose:

This assignment was created as a potential cover illustration for an article titled ‘In Defense of “Denial”: Difficulty Knowing When Beliefs Are Unrealistic and Whether Unrealistic Beliefs Are Bad’ from The American Journal of Bioethics. The article argues that it is difficult to distinguish an unrealistic belief from a realistic one and further posits that an unrealistic beliefs might not be harmful as expected. The illustration draws upon a popular metaphor and asks the viewer to consider the value of reaching to close the gap between ourselves and an unrealistic belief, symbolized by the carrot on a stick. It is hard to tell whether the donkey will succeed in obtaining the object of his aspiration since the string tying the carrot is long enough for the donkey to reach the carrot. The landscape suggests that a favorable outcome may arise from the act of reaching, as the background depicts the carrot leading the donkey away from barren terrain towards the grassland, thereby implyingthat the outcome of the pursuit prompted by the unrealistic belief may not lead to harmful. The overall image conveys a positive atmosphere with tThe yellow light of sunrise projected from the left.

Medium:

Adobe Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint

Audience:

Gerenal Public