Ideal Presence: How Kames Solved the Problem of Fiction and Emotion

Abstract

The problem of fiction and emotion is the problem of how we can be moved by the contemplation of fictional events and the plight of fictional characters when we know that the former have not occurred and the latter do not exist. I will give a general sketch of the philosophical treatment of the issue in the present day, and then turn to the eighteenth century for a solution as effective as the best that are presently on offer. The solution is to be found in the account of ideal presence given by Henry Home, Lord Kames.The 1970s saw the emergence of a debate in aesthetics and the philosophy of mind that remains a subject of considerable significance in the philosophical literature to this day. The problem of fiction and emotion is the problem of how we can be moved by the contemplation of fictional events and the plight of fictional characters when we know that the former have not occurred and the latter do not exist. Affective responses in such contexts seem, at least to many philosophers, either to impugn our rationality or to cast doubt on the contention that genuine emotions are involved in our reactions to fiction. I will give a very general sketch of how the philosophical treatment of the issue has gone in the recent literature, and then turn to the eighteenth century and Kames for a solution that seems as effective as the best that are presently on offer.

The teleology of the aesthetic in the british enlightenment

“…753 The mental exercise model is based on the Aristotelian idea that exercising the proper feelings is an integral part of a virtuous act, or, rather, that virtue consists in exercising the proper feelings habitually. 754 In accordance with the ancient insight of virtue ethics, Kames suggests that "every exercise of virtue, internal and external, leads to habit; for a disposition or propensity of the mind, like a limb of engagement. It follows that we must answer a more fundamental question as well: how can fiction engage our emotions and passions at all?…”

Long-term effects of a mediated reading programme on the development of emotional competencies /Efectos a largo plazo de un programa de lectura mediada para el desarrollo de competencias emocionales

“…Históricamente la literatura ha estado ligada al plano emocional (Dadlez, 2011) y su utilización, como herramienta de intervención específica, puede ser observado, por ejemplo, en los diferentes tipos de biblioterapia (Stainbrook, 2011; Janavičienė, 2010); en un plano más general su utilización es también observable en los diferentes tipos de ‘cuenta-cuentos’ (Agostini & Guidali, 2010; Munita, 2007) donde también se ha utilizado como mecanismo para potenciar, habitualmente desde fuera de la escuela, distintas habilidades emocionales en los niños. En la escuela, también la literatura infantil es parte habitual de los currículos preescolares, aunque es habitualmente utilizada como un agente alfabetizador (Flores, Pires, & Souza, 2014; Mincic, 2009; Zevenbergen & Whitehurst, 2003).…”

“…Historically, the literature has been associated with the emotional plane (Dadlez, 2011), and its use as a tool for specific intervention can be seen, for example, in the different kinds of bibliotherapy (Stainbrook, 2011; Janavičienė, 2010). In a more general sense, its use has also been noted in different kinds of ‘storytelling’ (Agostini & Guidali, 2010; Munita, 2007), where it has also been used as a mechanism to encourage children’s different emotional abilities, usually from outside the school.…”