Fiction and Representation

Zoltán Vecsey

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9783110649192, 9783110646801
• eBook ISBN: 9783110648225
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Literary Criticism

One of the basic insights of the book is that there is a notion of non-relational linguistic representation which can fruitfully be employed in a systematic approach to literary fiction. This notion allows us to develop an improved understanding of the ontological nature of fictional entities. A related insight is that the customary distinction between extra-fictional and intra-fictional contexts has only a secondary theoretical importance. This distinction plays a central role in nearly all contemporary theories of literary fiction. There is a tendency among researchers to take it as obvious that the contrast between these two types of contexts is crucial for understanding the boundary that divides fiction from non-fiction. Seen from the perspective of non-relational representation, the key question is rather how representational networks come into being and how consumers of literary texts can, and do, engage with these networks. As a whole, the book provides, for the first time, a comprehensive artefactualist account of the nature of fictional entities.

Table of contents

• Acknowledgments
• Contents
• Abbreviations
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Realism About Fictional Entities
• 3. Motives For Elaborating A Representational Alternative
• 4. Recalcitrant Problems For Theories Of Fictionalia
• 5. A Metatheoretical Epilogue
• References
• Author
• Subject