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| Philosophical fiction | |
|---|---|
| Features | Significant proportion devoted to discussion of questions normally addressed in discursivephilosophy |
| Subgenres | |
| Novel of ideas | |
Philosophical fiction is anyfiction that devotes a significant portion of its content to the sort of questions addressed byphilosophy. It might explore any facet of thehuman condition, including the function and role of society, the nature and motivation of human acts, thepurpose of life,ethics or morals, the role of art in human lives, the role of experience orreason in the development of knowledge, whether there existsfree will, or any other topic of philosophical interest. Philosophical fiction includes thenovel of ideas, which can also fall under the genre ofscience fiction,utopian and dystopian fiction, andbildungsroman.
There is no universally accepted definition of philosophical fiction, but a sampling of notable works can help to outline its history. For example, aPlatonic dialogue could be considered philosophical fiction.[1] Some modern philosophers have written novels, plays, or short fiction in order to demonstrate or introduce their ideas. Common examples includeVoltaire,Fyodor Dostoevsky,Thomas Mann,Hermann Hesse,Albert Camus,Jean-Paul Sartre,Simone de Beauvoir andAyn Rand. Authors who admire certain philosophers may incorporate their ideas into the principal themes or central narratives of novels. Some examples includeThe Moviegoer (Walker Percy),Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Nietzsche),Wittgenstein's Mistress (David Markson), andSpeedboat (post-structuralism).
