Singular Terms, Identity, and the Creation of Fictional Characters - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Disputatio Année : 2019

Singular Terms, Identity, and the Creation of Fictional Characters

Résumé

Abstract How to interpret singular terms in fiction? In this paper, we address this semantic question from the perspective of the Artifactual Theory of Fiction (ATF). According to the ATF, fictional characters exist as abstract artifacts created by their author, and preserved through the existence of copies of an original work and a competent readership. We pretend that a well-suited semantics for the ATF can be defined with respect to a modal framework by means of Hintikka’s world lines semantics. The question of the interpretation of proper names is asked in relation to two inference rules, problematic when applied in intensional contexts: the Substitution of Identicals and Existential Generalization. The former fails because identity is contingent. The latter because proper names are not necessarily linked to well-identified individuals. This motivates a non-rigid interpretation of proper names in fiction, although cross-fictional reference (e.g. to real entities) is made possible by the interpretative efforts of the reader.
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
fontaine [2020] singular terms, identity, and the creation of fictional characters.pdf (234.17 Ko) Télécharger le fichier
Origine Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte
Licence

Dates et versions

hal-04390368 , version 1 (12-01-2024)

Licence

Identifiants

Citer

Matthieu Fontaine. Singular Terms, Identity, and the Creation of Fictional Characters. Disputatio, 2019, 11 (54), pp.207-229. ⟨10.2478/disp-2019-0017⟩. ⟨hal-04390368⟩
10 Consultations
8 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

Gmail Mastodon Facebook X LinkedIn More