Fictionality

The distinction between fiction and non-fiction, between a text that is true and one that is not, is one of the oldest on record. Ever since we have been thinking about the act of narration, we have addressed the related meanings of truth and imagination. This is what Aristotle designated as the dif...

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Main Author: Andrew Piper
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at McGill University 2016-12-01
Series:Journal of Cultural Analytics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/93mdj
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spelling doaj-cf5ad8fb22f5446eb3d203ec00fc0f412020-11-25T00:30:02ZengDepartment of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at McGill UniversityJournal of Cultural Analytics2371-45492016-12-0110.22148/16.011FictionalityAndrew PiperThe distinction between fiction and non-fiction, between a text that is true and one that is not, is one of the oldest on record. Ever since we have been thinking about the act of narration, we have addressed the related meanings of truth and imagination. This is what Aristotle designated as the difference between the communicative use of language (legein) and its creative use (poiein). For millennia, we have been debating whether there are inherent features of being fictional or whether it is simply a matter of intention, that perhaps there is nothing unique to the language of fictional discourse after all. How do we know when a text is signalling that it is "true" or, by extension, not true? And what might quantity have to tell us about this most elementary of distinctions?https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/93mdjCultural AnalyticsDigital Humanities
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Andrew Piper
spellingShingle Andrew Piper
Fictionality
Journal of Cultural Analytics
Cultural Analytics
Digital Humanities
author_facet Andrew Piper
author_sort Andrew Piper
title Fictionality
title_short Fictionality
title_full Fictionality
title_fullStr Fictionality
title_full_unstemmed Fictionality
title_sort fictionality
publisher Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at McGill University
series Journal of Cultural Analytics
issn 2371-4549
publishDate 2016-12-01
description The distinction between fiction and non-fiction, between a text that is true and one that is not, is one of the oldest on record. Ever since we have been thinking about the act of narration, we have addressed the related meanings of truth and imagination. This is what Aristotle designated as the difference between the communicative use of language (legein) and its creative use (poiein). For millennia, we have been debating whether there are inherent features of being fictional or whether it is simply a matter of intention, that perhaps there is nothing unique to the language of fictional discourse after all. How do we know when a text is signalling that it is "true" or, by extension, not true? And what might quantity have to tell us about this most elementary of distinctions?
topic Cultural Analytics
Digital Humanities
url https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/93mdj
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