Q- What do you think about truth, fact, fiction, lies etc when it comes to make opinion about literature?
Plato's argument
"What literary writers write is fiction" therefore Plato calls it lies and hence poets are liars according to Plato.
Usually the meaning of Fiction is something that is invented or untrue. Literature in the form of prose, especially novels that describes imaginary events and people are considered as fictional writings.
Whereas on the other hand a lie is a non fact deliberately told as fact.Ursula K. Le Guin explain this concept by giving natural example, i.e. the sun rises in the east, to pretend the sun can rise in the west is a fiction, to claim that it does so as fact is a lie.
Here I would like to give one example of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein-
In Frankenstein Mary invented a new fictional creature by her own imagination. We all know that it is a lie, but still Mary goes on proving her fictional character as a real scientific discovery by explaining the process of creating or giving life to dead ones through Victor Frankenstein. She introduce some basic chemical reaction as a fact like Electricity used to give the current of life. She is trying to pretend that it can be happen, it is a fiction, and to claim that it does so as fact is a lie.
Therefore in favor of Plato we may think that whatever presents or described in novel or whatever the writers write is fiction and hence the writer is a liar.
If we think about autobiography or any real life incidents taht got narrated in the books, those are also not true as a whole, there is some kind of Aporia in it because we dont know that whoever is writing, is writing on what basis, whether he/ she saw everything from their eyes or listens elsewhere or read historical books. Means the truth is twice removed from reality.
Plato's argument
"What literary writers write is fiction" therefore Plato calls it lies and hence poets are liars according to Plato.
Usually the meaning of Fiction is something that is invented or untrue. Literature in the form of prose, especially novels that describes imaginary events and people are considered as fictional writings.
Whereas on the other hand a lie is a non fact deliberately told as fact.Ursula K. Le Guin explain this concept by giving natural example, i.e. the sun rises in the east, to pretend the sun can rise in the west is a fiction, to claim that it does so as fact is a lie.
Here I would like to give one example of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein-
In Frankenstein Mary invented a new fictional creature by her own imagination. We all know that it is a lie, but still Mary goes on proving her fictional character as a real scientific discovery by explaining the process of creating or giving life to dead ones through Victor Frankenstein. She introduce some basic chemical reaction as a fact like Electricity used to give the current of life. She is trying to pretend that it can be happen, it is a fiction, and to claim that it does so as fact is a lie.
Therefore in favor of Plato we may think that whatever presents or described in novel or whatever the writers write is fiction and hence the writer is a liar.
If we think about autobiography or any real life incidents taht got narrated in the books, those are also not true as a whole, there is some kind of Aporia in it because we dont know that whoever is writing, is writing on what basis, whether he/ she saw everything from their eyes or listens elsewhere or read historical books. Means the truth is twice removed from reality.
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