CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020
| Author | Aydin, Fatma Betul |
|---|---|
| Title | Fiction As Thought Experiment - Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Emile or On Education As a Case Study |
| Summary | In this thesis, I will argue that thought experiments are fictional narratives since their aim is to make-believe the imaginary scenario depicted and they are not limited by the “fidelity constraint”. Besides, it will be contended that some of the fictions and thought experiments are of the same kind, the former being more elaborate because of its subject matter. In line with literary cognitivists, I will claim that we can acquire knowledge by reading works of fiction. As a response to “banality argument”, “no-evidence” argument, and “no argument” argument against the cognitive efficacy of literary works, the “mental model” account of thought experiments will be adopted. According to this account, we can acquire knowledge from fiction by building a mental model that mobilizes unarticulated cognitive resources while reading the book. Finally, J. J. Rousseau’s book Emile or On Education will be analyzed as an extended, elaborate thought experiment in the light of the mental model view. |
| Supervisor | Miščević, Nenad |
| Department | Philosophy MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2020/aydin_fatma-betul.pdf |
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