The CEU Department of Philosophy cordially invites you to a talk
(as part of its Departmental Colloquium series)
by
Stacie Friend (Birkbeck, University of London)
on
Reality in Fiction
Tuesday, 29 March 2016, 5.30 PM, Zrinyi 14, Room 412
ABSTRACT
I argue that judgements of what is ‘true in a fiction’ presuppose the Reality Assumption:
the assumption that everything that is (really) true is also fictionally the case, unless
excluded by features of the work. By contrast with the more familiar Reality Principle,
the Reality Assumption is not a rule or ‘principle of generation’ for inferring implied
content from what is explicit in a text. Instead it provides an array of real-world truths
that can be used in making such inferences. Drawing on empirical evidence, I claim that
reliance on the Reality Assumption is essential to our ability to understand stories.
However, the Reality Assumption has several unintuitive consequences, not least that what
is fictionally the case includes countless facts that neither authors nor readers could or
should ever consider. I argue that such consequences provide no reason to reject the
Reality Assumption.
Professor Friend has provided us with a now published article that is presently posted on
e-Learning.
All philosophy department faculty and students should have access to e-Learning.
The document is also attached to this message for your convenience.
Krisztina Biber
Department of Philosophy
Coordinator
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Central European University
Nador u. 9. | 1051 Budapest, Hungary
Office: + 36.1.327.3806 | biberk(a)ceu.hu |
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