2021/09/16 by Tilmann Köppe, Julia Langkau
Arts and Humanities · Neuroscience · Psychology · #Action Observation and Synchronization #Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics #Face Recognition and Perception
paper · doi:10.33134/eeja.224
openalex publication_date 2021/09/16 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
This paper defends a version of aesthetic cognitivism: the truth of statements expressed, implied, or alluded to by a work of fiction matters aesthetically, and bears upon the work’s aesthetic value. Our aim is to explore a route from truth to aesthetic value that claims, roughly, that, if our engagement with a work of fiction is based on truth, it is more vivid than otherwise, and thereby contributes to the aesthetic value of the work. Whether truth increases the vividness of our engagement with fiction is an empirical question. On the assumption that it does, we spell out some consequences for the aesthetic value, and in particular for the literary value of a work, as well as for critical practice.