On the sameness and difference of fictional characters and other non-existent objects

Prof. Tim Crane (Cambridge University)

Conference description:

Fictional characters have received unprecedented philosophical attention in last few years including the publication of the following monographs: Thomasson’s (1999) Fiction and Metaphysics, Priest’s (2005) Towards Non-Being, Azzuoni’s (2010) Talking About Nothing, Crane’s (2013) The Objects of Thought, Everett’s (2013) The Nonexistent, and the long awaited release of Kripke’s (2013) Reference and Existence. Despite the progress made by the above authors, there is still no consensus as to the best approach to the problem of fictional characters. The proposed conference, by bringing together some of those working in detail on the topic, seeks to highlight where there is agreement and what needs to be done to address the remaining problems.