Equivocation and the paradox of fiction

Abstract

The paradox of fiction is comprised of the following three theses: 1) When we engage with fiction we often have genuine emotions towards the characters in those fictions (emotivist thesis). 2) When we experience such emotions towards fictional characters we do not, usually, believe that the characters in those fictions exist (anti-realist thesis). 3) To have a genuine emotion we must believe that the object of our emotion exists (cognitivist thesis). Taken together, the three theses seemingly entail a contradiction. Yet considered alone, and charitably interpreted, each thesis is independently plausible. What is normally thought to be required to resolve the paradox is a principled reason for denying one of the three theses. A condition, which I will call the condition of adequacy, provides us with a basic guideline for choosing between different theories.