Document Type
Article
Abstract
Thinking about fiction raises some important questions that need to be answered if we are to grasp the essence of a fictional work. The questions I feel a theory of fiction needs to answer are as follows; Why do we react emotionally to fictional works when we are campletely aware of their fictionality? Why do we re-read books when we know what happens before re-reading? How are we to judge a work of fiction as a work of art’ When trying to come up with a theory of fiction, philosophers have proposed a wide range af solutions. These solutions have included the idea that fiction is a physical example of a fictional wok, the notion that fiction is an entity of consciousness, .4e notion that fiction is equivalent to a game of make-believe, and the idea that fiction is essentially the projection of a fictional world. All of these solutions run into trouble with one or mare of the questions I have raised earlier.
Publication Date
1991
Recommended Citation
Workman, Steven, "The Art of Fiction" (1991). Bouwsma Paper Contest. 12.
https://digitalcommons.calvin.edu/philosophy_bouwsma/12