Possibleworlds semantics reveals that possible worlds of fiction and. The intuition is that the meaning of a sentence specifies how the world would have to be for that sentence to be true or false. Beginning with a discussion of the extant semantics and pragmatics of fictionality. Traill rejects the prevailing idea that the fantastic is a literary genre, and proposes a crossgeneric approach, a theory of the fantastic based on possibleworlds semantics. Although possible world has been part of the philosophical lexicon at least since leibniz, the notion became firmly entrenched in contemporary philosophy with the development of possible world semantics for the languages of propositional and firstorder modal logic. Historys demarcation problem tyynela 2012 history and. Possible worlds semantics reveals that possible worlds of fiction and possible worlds of. I will try to point out the way postmodern fiction and theories of possible worlds harsaw hrushovski, dolezel, ronen generate the aesthetic principles creating various levels. The elementary units and agents of a world are then enumerated a natural force, a person, mental life, state, and event.
Possible worlds semantics is a general approach to theories of meaning, on which meanings or, more precisely, semantic values are assigned to sentences in terms of the truthvalues they take across all possible worlds. A semantic typology of fiction marielaure ryan in recent years the semantics of possible worlds and literary theory have enjoyed a promising crossfertilization. Possible worlds of science fiction by groff conklin. This chapter focuses on logically possible worlds and counterpart semantics for modal logic. Semantics, possible worlds routledge encyclopedia of. This book discusses the metaphysics of impossible worlds and applies the concept to a range of central topics and open issues in logic, semantics, and philosophy. Possibleworlds semantics reveals that possible worlds of fiction and possible worlds of history differ in their origins, cultural functions, and structural and semantic features. Possibleworlds semantics justifies such a naive reading. The theory of fictional worlds considers fictional worlds to be specific kinds of possible worlds but, at the same time, fictional worlds are determined by their specific qualities. Possible worlds in literary theory literature, culture. The concept of possible worlds henceforth pw, loosely inspired by leibniz. Reality, imagination and possible worlds in american postmodern.
This novel take on modal metaphysics allows the new actualist to. It considers problems in the logic of knowledge, the meaning of alternative logics, models of imagination and mental simulation, the theory of information, truth in fiction, the. Fiction and possible worlds, dolezel proposes a conception of fictional semantics quite different from the view that emerges from lewis analysis of truth in fiction and from its implication, the principle of minimal departure. In this book ruth ronen develops a comparative reading of the use of possible worlds in philosophy and in. Preliminary motivations fictional worlds semantics builds to a considerable extent on the notion of possible worlds used by logical semantics. Pws was originally focused on the important concepts of necessity and possibility. Possible worlds theory and contemporary narratology on jstor. In heterocosmica, lubommr dolezel offers nothing less than a complete theory of literary fiction based on the idea of possible worlds. As a theory concerned with the opposition between the actual. Impossible worlds philosophy oxford bibliographies.
The notion of possible worlds has played a decisive role in postclassical narratology by awakening interest in the nature of fictionality and in emphasizing the notion of world as a source of aesthetic experience in narrative texts. Apr 02, 1998 possible worlds of fiction and history book. This part becomes essential to establish the theoretical coordinates in which the videogame moves as a contemporary cultural and audiovisual object. The logic of fiction came into its own in the 1970s with the publication of a. Possible worlds the living handbook of narratology.
If the question is about what kind of thing possible worlds are, then we should locate the theory on the metaphysical side. I contrast, first, a oneworld semantics with a possibleworlds semantics, arguing that the latter affords the only way out of the paradoxes presented in the first section of the book. Leibniz used the concept of a possible world in his proposed solution to the theological problem of the existence of evil, arguing that an. Beginning with a discussion of the extant semantics and pragmatics of fictionality by leibniz, russell, frege, searle, auerbach, and others he relates them to literature, literary theory, and ueterocosmica. The hardcover of the possible worlds of fiction and history. So does possible worlds theory belong to semantics or metaphysics. The notion of possibleworlds semantics is a logical notion that has a long and deep history in philosophy and in logic. Possible worlds semantics university of notre dame. The notion of possible worlds has played a decisive role in postclassical. Fiction and possible worlds johns hopkins university press. In particular, possible world theory provides a useful vocabulary and conceptual framework with which to describe such worlds.
Possible worlds stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. Diane proudfoot, possible worlds semantics and fiction. Originally conceived as the logic of necessity and possibility, philosophical roots of modal logic go back at least as far as aristotle and the stoic diodorus cronus. In his 1975 article possible worlds in literary semantics further. Lubomir dolezel was a czech literary theorist, and one of the founders of the so called fictional revised edition in czech. Logical expressions in logic and philosophy of logic. Ruth ronen develops a comparative reading of the use of possible worlds in philosophy and in literary theory. Jun 12, 2019 in lubomir dolezel published his most influential book heterocosmica. The postmodern stage, dolezel takes his earlier theory further and applies it to historiography as well, with the specific aim of showing how the study of history might be defended against the postmodern challenge via the use of possible worlds pw semantics. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read semantic mechanisms of humor. Semantics, possible worlds routledge encyclopedia of philosophy. The concept of possible worlds, originally introduced in philosophical logic, proves to be a productive tool when borrowed by literary theory to explain the notion of fictional worlds. Impossible worlds stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. In heterocosmica, lubomir dolezel offers nothing less than a complete theory of literary fiction based on the idea of possible worlds.
A statement in modal logic that is possible is said to be true in at least one possible world. While minimal departure assumes that fictional entities possess the same. Dolezels book is the first systematic application of this idea to the theory and. Dolezels book is the first systematic application of this idea to the theory and philosophy of history. Possible worlds theory and contemporary narratology by.
Possible worlds semantics and fiction springerlink. Then sorting out certain basic options in semantic. The theory of fictional worlds considers fictional worlds to be specific kinds of possible worlds but, at the same time, fictional worlds are. This paper reassesses lewiss theory and draws attention to some novel problems for his account. The canonical version of possible worlds semantics for story prefixes is due to david lewis. Possibleworlds semantics of fictionality is in opposition to the ancient. The first part of the book proposes a brief journey from philosophy to narratology in which the central notions at stake are analyzed. Questions about modal logic, possible worlds, probability. Contemporary science fiction books, where monsters appear to.
Possibleworlds semantics reveals that possible worlds of fiction and possible worlds of. Book awards book club selections books by author books by series coming soon kids books new releases teens books this months biggest new releases. Dolezels book is the first systematic application of this idea to the theory. Heterocosmica appeared in the wake of a number of other books on the application of possible worlds theory to literary semantics pavel, ronen, maitre, semino, and myself, but none of these books with the possible exception of pavels would have been what it. Specifically, in possible world semantics, the modal operators are interpreted as quantifiers over possible worlds, as expressed informally in the following two general principles. A worldbased literary semantics proceeds by first distinguishing a oneperson world from multiperson worlds. The term impossible worlds parallels the term possible worlds and commonly refers to setups, situations, or totalities worlds that are inconsistent, incomplete, nonclassical, or nonnormal in possibleworld semantics and metaphysics. In this book ruth ronen develops a comparative reading of the use of possible worlds in philosophy and in literary theory, and offers an analysis of the way. In particular, possibleworld theory provides a useful vocabulary and conceptual framework with which to describe such worlds. It is often contrasted with the way things actually are. Possible worlds semantics and fiction researchgate. In heterocosmica, lubomir dolezel offers a complete theory of literary fiction based on the idea of possible worlds. The worry is that unconstrained impossible worlds semantics makes no real progress over.
Written long before the publication of his fiction and essays. Possible worlds theory in literary studies uses concepts from possibleworld logic and applies them to worlds that are created by fictional texts, fictional universe. He challenges scholars to reassess the postmodern viewpoint by reintroducing the idea of possible worlds. A semantics for modal logic was first introduced in the late1950s work of saul kripke and his colleagues. Possible worlds, or possible states of the world, are properties that a total universe might have. Impossible worlds constitute an increasingly popular yet controversial topic in logic and metaphysics. Beginning with a discussion of the extant semantics and pragmatics of fictionality by leibniz, russell, frege, searle, auerbach, and others he relates them to. The last of all possible worlds download ebook pdf, epub. Click download or read online button to get the last of all possible worlds book now. Possible world project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Beginning with a discussion of the extant semantics and pragmatics of fictionality by leibniz, russell, frege, searle, auerbach, and others he relates them to literature, literary th. If theres no logical structure to impossible worlds, then we might do as well to model an agents knowledge using an arbitrary set of sentences, as in konolige 1986. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want.
The idea of possible worlds raised the prospect of extensional respectability for modal logic, not by rendering modal logic itself extensional, but by endowing it with an extensional semantic theory one whose own logical foundation is that of classical predicate logic and, hence, one on which possibility and necessity can ultimately be. Possible world, conception of a total way the universe might have been. In possible worlds semantics, p is physically possible if there is an accessible world at which p is true. The worry is that unconstrained impossible worlds semantics makes no real progress over this purely syntactic approach jago 2007, 2009. The canonical version of possible worlds semantics for story prefixes is. Leibniz used the concept of a possible world in his proposed solution to the theological problem of the existence of evil, arguing that an allperfect god would actualize the best of all possible worlds. Possible worlds semantics pws is a family of ideas and methods that have been used to analyse concepts of philosophical interest. Heterocosmica appeared in the wake of a number of other books on the application of possible worlds theory to literary semantics pavel, ronen, maitre, semino, and myself, but none of these books with the possible exception of pavels would have been what it is, nor arguably written at all, without the inspiration provided by dolezels. But much of the interest of the theory is in its role in. Questions about modal logic, possible worlds, probability, etc.
Specifically, in possible world semantics, the modal operators are interpreted. Possibleworlds semantics reveals that possible worlds of fiction and possible. From this groundwork, the theory of possible worlds became a central part of. Dole els book is the first systematic application of this idea to the theory and philosophy of history. In this book, we propose a model, inspired by the semantics of fiction and possible worlds, which is oriented to the analysis of video games as integrated systems. The concept of possible worlds, originally introduced in philosophical logic, has recently gained interdisciplinary influence.
Project muse possible worlds of fiction and history. So the physical accessibility relation should be compatibility with the laws of physics. Possible worlds theory in literary studies uses concepts from possible world logic and applies them to worlds that are created by fictional texts, fictional universe. Beginning with a discussion of the extant semantics and pragmatics of fictionality by leibniz, russell, frege, searle, auerbach, and others. Dolezel rejects this assertion and demonstrates how literary and discourse theory can help the historian to restate the difference between fiction and. While philosophers have invoked the concepts of book and of story to explain what a pos. Possible worlds of fiction and history johns hopkins. Possible worlds theory and contemporary narratology by alice.
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