Questions sur les ficta

Abstract

The ficta, i.e. fictional objects, are the privileged subject matter of the discourse of philosophers, literary critics, readers and, originally, of fiction authors. The ficta raise several types of questions: metaphysical ones - “What is a fictum?”, “What is its nature?”, ontological ones - “Is there such a thing as a fictional object?” and, of course, semantical ones - “What is a fictional proper noun?”, “What is a sensible discourse about ficta?” Starting from these questions, various answers have been advanced, in an attempt to grasp, through one theoretical lens or another, the very definition of ficta: “What is ultimately a fictional object?” The article sets out to present - without really deciding - a series of possible answers to these questions.

Keywords

• fictional object
• realism vs. irrealism about ficta