Dr Stacie Friend to give a talk during the PhilEAs Conference Cycle
On Thursday 19 April, Dr Stacie Friend will give a talk on 'The Factual Basis of Learning from Fiction' as part of the PhilEAs Conference Cycle at the University of Geneva.
Dr Stacie Friend will be giving a talk on Thursday 19 April at the University of Geneva, in the PhilEAs (Philosophy Students' Association of the university) Conference Cycle.
Title: 'The Factual Basis of Learning from Fiction'
Discussions of the cognitive value of fictional literature usually take for granted that we can learn ordinary facts from fiction, and focus instead on other forms of knowledge or cognitive improvement. I argue that at least some of these other kinds of cognitive value -- such as learning 'what it's like' to have different experiences, or acquiring psychological insight into other human beings -- presuppose a basis in fact. I outline an account of the conditions under which we learn facts from fiction, and deploy it to better understand how fictions may be sources of other forms of cognitive value.