Electric Agora (archive)

Tag: Fictional characters

  • Bits and Pieces — ‘Exists’ / ‘Real’

    by Daniel A. Kaufman 1. You are talking with a friend who is, perhaps, a bit too taken with superhero comics. Halfway into an enthusiastic speech regarding the virtues of Captain America, you say to him gently, “You do realize that Captain America doesn’t exist, right?” What effect is this supposed to have on him?…

  • Doctor Who and the Ontology of the Fictional Character

    by E. John Winner Philosophical background This is not a text of philosophy, but it would be remiss not to note some of the philosophical background to the issues raised.  One of the problems with that background is that in the kind of discussion we’ll be having here, we will naturally be making claims regarding…