Fiction, Identity, and Existence: A Study in Experimental Philosophy

Fictional entities (ficta, for short) are extensively debated in contemporary metaphysics. Different accounts are compared on the basis of their theoretical virtues, among which intuitive appeal is typically included. Still, it is not always clear whether a theory should count as more intuitive than its rivals. In order to delve deeper into this matter, we conducted an empirical study involving persons with little or no philosophical training. In this article, we shall present the results of our study, which was aimed at testing the following hypotheses. With respect to the identity of ficta, (h1) whether it can be observed an intuitive response to each of the selected identity conundrums raised by fictional stories. With respect to the existence of ficta, (h2) whether it can be observed an intuitive preference about their ontological and metaphysical status (respectively, whether ficta are genuine entities and, if so, what kind of entities they are).