Fiction and Art: Explorations in Contemporary Theory

Description

The nature of fiction has long been debated across the humanities, and is of considerable importance for philosophical aesthetics, literary theory, narratology and the history of ideas. This volume offers something entirely new: a selection of multidisciplinary perspectives on fiction written by an international team of contributors at the forefront of their fields, providing a spectrum of approaches to compare and contrast. This volume, divided between historical, cognitive, aesthetic and non-western approaches, targets a wide range of topics, including mathematics, history, religion and metaphysics. This is a seminal volume on one of the most important topics in the humanities.

Ananta Sukla is a former Professor and Head of the Department of English at Sambalpur University and Visiting Professor at the Institute of Aesthetics, University of Uppsala, Sweden. His publications include Art and Representation (2001), Art and Experience (2003), Art and Essence (2003), and Art and Expression (2011).

In recent years, philosophers have devoted increasing attention to issues in the conceptuality of fiction. What is fiction? How does it differ from other forms of writing? To what extent can works of fiction convey truth? These are just some questions taken up in Fiction and Art-a collection that brings together 26 original essays by scholars of philosophy, literature, performing arts, and classical studies. Organized into four parts, the volume considers the role fiction plays not only in our conscious lives but also as a bearer of truth. Part 1 is devoted to historical perspectives; part 2, to interdisciplinary perspectives; part 3 examines the role of fiction in aesthetic culture; and part 4 looks at fiction in four Eastern cultures-Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic. One strength of this collection is the wide range of the contributors' backgrounds. As one might expect, analytic philosophy is well represented, but so too are Continental philosophy, postmodernism, and feminism. Sukla (English, Sambalpur Univ., India) has done a wonderful job of bringing together truly diverse essays. The collection will be of special interest to those doing interdisciplinary work on contemporary philosophy of art and fiction. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. * CHOICE * The scope of this fascinating collection is more extensive than that of any previously published work on the subject. It raises important questions about the concept of fiction from a remarkably wide range of historical, disciplinary and theoretical perspectives. * Stephen Halliwell, Professor of Greek and Wardlaw Professor of Classics, University of St Andrews, UK * An impressive collection of studies edited by Ananta Sukla and authored by the best specialists in a variety of fields. Fiction, they show, is present in virtually all human activities, from cognition to emotion and from mathematics to religion. A fascinating section on Asia perspective gives the collection a global dimension. Professor Sukla emphasizes the power of fiction to reshape reality in the light of human values. A splendid success, this collection is required reading for anyone interested in the nature of fiction. * Thomas Pavel, Gordon J. Lang Distinguished Service Professor, University of Chicago, USA * A philosophical feast, required reading for all scholars interested in the truth about fiction. * William Irwin, Professor of Philosophy, King's College, Pennsylvania, USA * Professor Sukla presents a superb and comprehensive collection by a team of distinguished scholars, on the pluridisciplinarity and intermedial study of fiction, addressing its ontology and epistemology in a dialogue across artistic practices, that incorporates reflections on fictionality in various modes (textual, pictorial, sonic and audio-visual) as well as distinct cultural and temporal settings worldwide. * Asun Lopez-Varela, Prof. of Semiotics and Comparative InterArt Studies at Universidad Complutense Madrid, Spain * A fascinating spread of topics across historical contexts, disciplines and cultures. Anyone with an interest in the very idea of fiction will find much here to stimulate thought and deepen understanding. * Peter Lamarque, Professor of Philosophy, University of York, UK *