Peter Lamarque
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199577460
- eISBN:
- 9780191722998
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199577460.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This chapter discusses the ontological status of fictional characters and the logical constraints on creating characters. Drawing on Jerrold Levinson's arguments for the creation of musical works, it ...
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This chapter discusses the ontological status of fictional characters and the logical constraints on creating characters. Drawing on Jerrold Levinson's arguments for the creation of musical works, it proposes that fictional characters are initiated types, grounded in acts of storytelling, although not essentially bound to any one, even if tied to a reasonably determinate historico-cultural context. Character identity is interest-relative and a character's variant identity conditions determine which of its properties are essential. Fictional characters are created just to the extent that their grounding narratives are created, narratives which allow for indexicality in character identification. The literary dimension is also explored, accommodating symbolic, value-laden, and interpretation-dependent factors.Less
This chapter discusses the ontological status of fictional characters and the logical constraints on creating characters. Drawing on Jerrold Levinson's arguments for the creation of musical works, it proposes that fictional characters are initiated types, grounded in acts of storytelling, although not essentially bound to any one, even if tied to a reasonably determinate historico-cultural context. Character identity is interest-relative and a character's variant identity conditions determine which of its properties are essential. Fictional characters are created just to the extent that their grounding narratives are created, narratives which allow for indexicality in character identification. The literary dimension is also explored, accommodating symbolic, value-laden, and interpretation-dependent factors.
