THE PARADOX OF FICTION: A PROPOSAL FOR A SOLUTION BASED ON THE INFORMATION-PROCESSING APPROACH

Sam S. Rakover

doi:10.1353/phl.2022.0021

THE PARADOX OF FICTION: A PROPOSAL FOR A SOLUTION BASED ON THE INFORMATION-PROCESSING APPROACH

Sam S. Rakover

Department of Psychology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The paradox of fiction deals with the following question: how is it possible to react emotionally to a fictive image? After a discussion of two important solutions to the paradox, I present an outline of my solution. The “real/fictional information-processing” theory proposes that all kinds of stimuli (real or fictive) are undergoing information processing by the cognitive system. Each stimulus consists of bundle of particular stimuli (for example, a cat) and certain indicators that specify whether it is real or fictitious. Based on the result of this processing, one’s emotional response is done adequately—it fits reality.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	301-311
Number of pages	11
Journal	Philosophy and Literature
Volume	46
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1353/phl.2022.0021
State	Published - Oct 2022

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Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Johns Hopkins University Press.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Philosophy
Literature and Literary Theory

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10.1353/phl.2022.0021

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THE PARADOX OF FICTION: A PROPOSAL FOR A SOLUTION BASED ON THE INFORMATION-PROCESSING APPROACH

Abstract

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