On the ontology of fictional characters: A semiotic approach
Sign Systems Studies 37 (1/2):82-97 (2009)
Abstract
Why are we deeply moved by the misfortune of Anna Karenina if we are fully aware that she is simply a fictional character who does not exist in our world?But what does it mean that fictional characters do not exist? The present article is concerned with the ontology of fictional characters. The author concludes thatsuccessful fictional characters become paramount examples of the ‘real’ human condition because they live in an incomplete world what we have cognitive access to but cannot influence in any way and where no deeds can be undone. Unlike all the other semiotic objects, which are culturally subject to revisions, and perhaps only similar to mathematical entities, the fictual characters will never change and will remain the actors of what they did once and forever.ISBN(s)
1406-4243
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Citations of this work
Towards a Phenomenological Analysis of Fictional Emotions.Marco Cavallaro - 2019 - Phainomenon. Journal of Phenomenological Philosophy 29:57-81.
Between fiction and reality: Transforming the semiotic object.Jaan Valsiner - 2009 - Sign Systems Studies 37 (1/2):99-112.
The place for synthesis: Vygotsky’s analysis of affective generalization.Jaan Valsiner - 2015 - History of the Human Sciences 28 (2):93-102.