Mimesis As Make-Believe: On the Foundations of Representational Arts

Rating:
Summary: Convincing common-sense theory of fiction
Review: Mimesis As Make-Believe is one of the most intellectually satisfying books I've read in a long time. Walton begins by exploring some obvious -- but too often neglected -- questions about imagination, fictionality, and make-believe. He then introduces several theories of fiction (from the analytic tradition), and some theories of the ontology fictional beings, until finally introducing his own theory as a solution to the dilemmas others leave unsolved.

Following in the tradition of Wittgenstein and Derrida, Walton argues that fiction comes from playful use of signifiers, what Wittgenstein would call "language games" or "language-play." When we experience fiction, according to Walton, we "act as if" the fictional world were real. Walton introduces an epistemology of fiction, with the operator "it is fictional" functioning much like the operator "it is true" functions in our world -- but with the strong admonition that being fictional is not the same thing as being true.

This philosophy of fiction as a way for humans to "act as if" is appealing on several grounds. It fits well with common sense notions of fiction, and unlike many competing theories, does not force us to go against our pretheoretical ways of talking about fiction. We do not need to commit ourselves to fictional universes housing fictional beings, but we also do not need to say that any statement involving fictional beings is false. Everything is worked out quite precisely, true to the analytic tradition, with a few brief forays into symbolic logic. But unlike many analytic philosopherse, Walton still takes art and fiction seriously, and does not dismiss them as pathological forms of signification.

Overall, this book is entertaining, well-written, an enjoyable read, and intellectually groundbreaking. It provides a way to think about fiction that, for the first time, obviates the need for heroic assumptions or unappealing ontological constructs.

Rating:
Summary: Convincing common-sense theory of fiction
Review: Mimesis As Make-Believe is one of the most intellectually satisfying books I've read in a long time. Walton begins by exploring some obvious -- but too often neglected -- questions about imagination, fictionality, and make-believe. He then introduces several theories of fiction (from the analytic tradition), and some theories of the ontology fictional beings, until finally introducing his own theory as a solution to the dilemmas others leave unsolved.

Following in the tradition of Wittgenstein and Derrida, Walton argues that fiction comes from playful use of signifiers, what Wittgenstein would call "language games" or "language-play." When we experience fiction, according to Walton, we "act as if" the fictional world were real. Walton introduces an epistemology of fiction, with the operator "it is fictional" functioning much like the operator "it is true" functions in our world -- but with the strong admonition that being fictional is not the same thing as being true.

This philosophy of fiction as a way for humans to "act as if" is appealing on several grounds. It fits well with common sense notions of fiction, and unlike many competing theories, does not force us to go against our pretheoretical ways of talking about fiction. We do not need to commit ourselves to fictional universes housing fictional beings, but we also do not need to say that any statement involving fictional beings is false. Everything is worked out quite precisely, true to the analytic tradition, with a few brief forays into symbolic logic. But unlike many analytic philosopherse, Walton still takes art and fiction seriously, and does not dismiss them as pathological forms of signification.

Overall, this book is entertaining, well-written, an enjoyable read, and intellectually groundbreaking. It provides a way to think about fiction that, for the first time, obviates the need for heroic assumptions or unappealing ontological constructs.