Reference Of Fictional Names In Fictional Works

This paper explores the problem of fictional name reference in fictional works,examines various theories of fictional name reference by listing various sentences that appear in fictional literary writing and criticism,and finally reconciles various theories to propose a new view based on realism,which fills the gap of inadequate explanation of this problem in classical reference theory.The paper will be divided into several parts: first,to clarify several key concepts in the topic,and then to point out the neglect of the problem of fictional name reference by classical analytic philosophy.Second,the recent solutions to this problem in philosophy of language and metaphysics-realist and anti-realist theories of fictional objects-will be elaborated,and branching views of each solution will be presented,namely,the Menonist,non-realist,and abstract artifact theories of realism;and the fictional operator approach and presupposition theory of anti-realism.Finally,the strengths and weaknesses of each theory are summarized,and a possibility of reconciling realism and anti-realism is proposed in the consideration of the previous solutions,i.e.,the anti-realist approach is included in the realism,and it is argued that: the reconciled theory is able to explain various sentences that appear in the course of literary practice.This paper argues that the reconciled realist view is the optimal solution among multiple alternatives because it outperforms the anti-realist approach to translation rewriting in terms of its explanatory simplicity and is able to explain new problems that arise in the field of literary practice.The significance of this paper is to propose a new approach to the problem of fictional name reference by analyzing various sentences that appear in literary practice,and this approach can provide a model for the study of other categories of empty name problems.In addition,the answers to the problem of fictional name reference in literary content sentences and critical sentences provide a theoretical basis for literary research.