260023 The Language of Fiction (S) (SoSe 2026)

Sherlock Holmes is a detective. That seems, to many people, clearly true. But search through all of time space and time, and you won't find the guy. How can statements about Holmes be true if there is no such person? In attempting to answer this question, we'll encounter issues in philosophy of language (what makes sentences true or false in the first place?), metaphysics (does Holmes exist as a fictional character?), epistemology (if Holmes does exist, what can we know about him?), and aesthetics (does engagement with fiction differ fundamentally from engagement with non-fiction)?

Teilnahmevoraussetzungen, notwendige Vorkenntnisse

Abschluss des ersten Studienjahres (beide Grundkurse, Philosophischer Einstieg und Philosophisches Schreiben).