Fiction, Fact and Value | Stacie Friend (Edinburgh)
Fiction, Fact and Value
Stacie Friend (Edinburgh)
Philosophers and other scholars have long held that reading fictional literature is cognitively valuable in a variety of ways. These ways usually do not include the capacity of fiction to convey factual information, however, because (it is thought) this capacity cannot contribute to the artistic or literary value of a work. In this paper I argue that the way we learn facts from fiction is essential to explaining several other cognitive values often attributed to fiction. I further suggest that truth and accuracy may contribute, not just to the cognitive value of a work of fiction, but also to its value as fictional literature.
The London Aesthetics Forum (LAF) is a Forum of the Institute of Philosophy at the University of London’s School of Advanced Study. With lectures on topics in aesthetics and philosophy of art, LAF aims to stimulate philosophical reflection on art. Our events are free and open to all.
View our programme of events, sign up for the newsletter, or browse our archives and podcasts.
Now available, episodes of Aesthetics Bites, a collaboration between the London Aesthetics Forum and Philosophy Bites (made possible by a grant from the British Society of Aesthetics).
We are generously sponsored by the British Society of Aesthetics
This page was last updated on 2 July 2024
