Knowledge, Fiction, and Imagination

by David Novitz

David Novitz makes a convincing and highly original case that fiction is a reliable source of knowledge about the world. Challenging contemporary literary theory as well as traditional epistemology, Novitz constructs a "romantic epistemology" according to which the fanciful imagination plays a crucial role in the acquisition and growth of empirical knowledge. While undeniably romantic, this epistemology does not lead to the romantic excesses of idealism and Derridean textualism, but is shown to be compatible both with realism and with the determinacy of textual meaning.

By exploring the use of metaphor in imaginative literature, David Novitz defends his theory and adds importantly to our understanding of metaphor and the way it works. In so doing, he attempts to "restore literature to its former status as a functional object—allowing that a thing of beauty may indeed instruct, and that it may do so in ways which are richer and more varied than the empirical sciences

1000 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1987