Calendar | Summer/Winter School

From the most overt genre of science fiction literature and films, to the novel zones of digital experiences and identities, to the recurring specter of post-truth and truthiness, our contemporary world is saturated with fictions. Everywhere, fictions abound; but does truth still remain? Is the distinction between "truth" and "fictional" still credible or effective? Is there a truth to fictions? Are truths all vital fictions? Ever since Husserl's original, though lesser known, analyses of image-consciousness, the imagination, and phantasy, the phenomenological interest in fiction and truth has enjoyed a rich and vibrant legacy. Amongst various approaches to these topical questions, a phenomenological analysis of fictional entities and fictionalizations of the imaginary challenges any traditional construal of the distinction between "the fictional" and "the true." The imaginary is not a mere copy of reality nor are fictional entities ghost-like apparitions without their own form of objectivity. How does phenomenology contribute to a renewed philosophical understanding of fictions? How can phenomenology understand the truth of fictions while recognizing the contributing element of fictions in the constitution of truth?