10 Merton Street Lecture Room at University College, Oxford.
Professor Manuel García-Carpintero (Universitat de Barcelona): '"Fictive Stance" vs. Mere Pretense Views of Fictionality'
Details
The Trinity Term 2025 Gareth Evans Memorial Lecture will take place at 5pm on Tuesday 27th May in the 10 Merton Street Lecture Room at University College, Oxford.
Abstract
How should we think of the utterances that convey fictions? Developing a standard take in the analytic tradition already adopted by Frege and casually endorsed by Austin, Kripke, van Inwagen and many others, MacDonald (1954) and Searle (1975) argue that they are mere pretense – the simulation of acts like assertions or questions. They don’t constitute sui generis, dedicated representational practices with a specific point, force or "stance", fictionalizing, on a par with those defining asserting or requesting. Alward (2009), Predelli (2019, 2020), and Recanati (2021) still endorse the view, but Walton (1990) and others provide decisive objections, predicated on its lack of explanatory power. In the paper I'll defend the specific version of the "fictive stance" view that I endorse by developing some of its explanatory virtues. In particular, I'll consider two that Searle mentions in support of his view, the creation of fictional characters and the presence of assertions in fiction. I'll also discuss the extent of "reality" principles, and the selection among conflicting interpretations.
