Fiction & Coherence

Q&A Question #1: Does fiction adhere to a coherence theory of truth?

Truth as coherence is when a statement coheres with other statements (word-word). Truth as correspondence is when a statement corresponds with the way the world works (word-world).

In a work of fiction, a statement does not need to correspond with the world (and often doesn't, like with works of science fiction), but does need to cohere with other statements within the work. This is similar to what Nicole mentioned in class about when an author writes an inconsistency. An author sets down statements or rules that govern the world of her work of fiction, and then must take care to have the rest of her statements cohere with those rules.

In class, DKJ said that with fiction there is "lots of stuff going on, but none of it is in the world." All of the goings-on occur in the mind of the reader. However, once the signs on the page enter the reader's mind, and plants an idea there, those signs can create a behavior change. In some small way, then, I think the reality of a book can transfer over to the reality of our world.