Springer How Ficta Follow Fiction: A Syncretistic Account of Fictional Entities: 105 (Philosophical Studies Series, 105)

This book presents a novel theory of fictional entities which integrates the work of previous authors. It puts forward a new metaphysical conception of the nature of these entities, according to which a fictional entity is a compound entity built up from both a make-believe theoretical element and a set-theoretical element. The author advances a new combined semantic and ontological defence of the existence of fictional entities. Review From the reviews: "In How Ficta Follow Fiction,Voltolini presents us with one of the richest and most ingenious defences of fictional entities (ficta)." (Eros Corazza, Carleton University, in dialectica Vol. 63 (1), 2009, book symposium on A. Voltolini's How Ficta Follow Fiction) "The book will be very useful for all those who want to have a guided overview of the state of the art in the field, and very helpful if used as a main text for an introductory graduate course." (Manuel García-Carpintero, University of Barcelona, in dialectica Vol. 63 (1), 2009, book symposium on A. Voltolini's How Ficta Follow Fiction) "This book is extremely well written and the issues clearly set before the reader. I happily recommend this work. It provides genuine food for thought and is a must for students, specialists and anyone interested in fiction, the philosophy of language, or metaphysics." (Alex Orenstein, Queens College and the Graduate Center, CUNY, in The Review of Metaphysics)"[...] one can't but be impressed by the quality of Voltolini's contribution to the question he sets out to discuss in the book." (Frederick Kroon, University of Auckland, in Australasian Journal of Philosophy)"[How Ficta Follow Fiction] is a paradigm of excellent philosophy and sets a new benchmark in the discussion of fictional objects." (Anthony Everett, Bristol University, in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews) "How Ficta Follow Fiction is divided in three parts. … Voltolini’s work is an outstanding contribution to the debate in the ontology of fiction, and a must reading for any interested in the topic. More than this, it is a deep and original book, filled with bold positions and provocative insights on a host of different themes in metaphysics and the philosophy of language." (Giuseppe Spolaore, in Epistemologia Vol. 30 (2), 2007) From the Back Cover This book presents a novel theory of fictional entities which is syncretistic insofar as it integrates the work of previous authors. It puts forward a new metaphysical conception of the nature of these entities, according to which a fictional entity is a compound entity built up from both a make-believe theoretical element and a set theoretical element. The fictional entity is constructed by imagining the existence of an individual with certain properties and adding a set-theoretical element consisting of the set of properties corresponding to the properties of the imagined entity. Moreover, the book advances a new combined semantic and ontological defence of the existence of fictional entities.