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Truth and Reference in the Making of Fiction

A View on Fictionality
Brief Description
A standard feature of our engagement with fictions is that we praise them as if they offer true insights on factual, psychological or evaluative matters, or criticize them as if they purport to do it but fail. But it is not so easy to make sense... Read More
Format: Hardback
$31500

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A systematic account of the nature of fiction explaining why fictions can refer to the world and state facts about it. The book offers tools to address common worries about fictions such as whether they can offer knowledge, by critically engaging with the most insightful contributions from contemporary philosophy.

A systematic account of the nature of fiction explaining why fictions can refer to the world and state facts about it.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A standard feature of our engagement with fictions is that we praise them as if they offer true insights on factual, psychological or evaluative matters, or criticize them as if they purport to do it but fail. But it is not so easy to make sense of this practice, since fictions traffick in made-up narratives concerning non-existing characters.

Truth and Reference in the Making of Fiction offers the reader conceptual tools to reflect on such issues, providing an overarching, systematic account of philosophical issues concerning fictions and illustrating them with analysis of compelling examples.

It asks whether fiction is defined—as John Searle and others have claimed—by mere pretense: the simulation of ordinary representational practices like assertions or requests, or whether it is defined by invitations or prescriptions to imagine. And it advances an original proposal on the nature of fictions, explaining why fictions can refer to the world and state facts about it.

Series: Cambridge Studies in Philosophy

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  • Truth and Reference in the Making of Fiction
    A standard feature of our engagement with fictions is that we praise them as if they offer true insights on factual, psychological or evaluative matters, or criticize them as if they purport to do it but fail. But it is not so easy to make sense of this practice, since fictions traffick in made-up narratives concerning non-existing characters. Truth and...
    Hardback
    $31500
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781009298452

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 22 January 2026

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Cambridge University Press

Illustration: Worked examples or Exercises

Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education

DIMENSIONS

Weight: 504g

Pages: 240

About the Author

Manuel García-Carpintero is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Barcelona. He has published widely on the philosophy of language and philosophy of mind. He is the author of Tell Me What You Know (2025).

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