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Beyond the Paradox: Answering the Real Question About Fictive Emotions

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2012, Master of Arts, University of Toledo, Philosophy.
Across cultures, people have engagements with fictions which can result in physiological and psychological responses. These responses are what I call fictive emotions. Fictive emotions, though phenomenologically similar to other types of emotions, are distinct in that they seem to be a reaction to characters and events that do not exist. This observation has lead philosophers to ask three questions about fictive emotions: the conceptual (Are fictive emotions possible?), the normative (Are fictive emotions rational?), and the causal(How is it that fictions can cause fictive emotions?). In the past, philosophers have focused almost exclusively on the conceptual and normative questions, avoiding the more important causal question. In the following I explain why a focus on the conceptual and normative questions is misguided and the superior benefits of working toward an answer to the causal question. Though some current work has focused on this question it has been marked by many of the latent worries of past work on the other questions. Here I will explore the motivations for a more robust explanation of fictive emotions as well as possible avenues for providing this explanation.
Dr. Charles Blatz (Committee Chair)
Dr. John Sarnecki (Committee Member)
Dr. Ammon Allred (Committee Member)
60 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Furlane, K. K. (2012). Beyond the Paradox: Answering the Real Question About Fictive Emotions [Master's thesis, University of Toledo]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1333731156

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Furlane, Kyle. Beyond the Paradox: Answering the Real Question About Fictive Emotions. 2012. University of Toledo, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1333731156.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Furlane, Kyle. "Beyond the Paradox: Answering the Real Question About Fictive Emotions." Master's thesis, University of Toledo, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1333731156

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)