Thinking about Stories

<p><em>Thinking About Stories</em> is a fun and thought-provoking introduction to philosophical questions about narrative fiction in its many forms from highbrow literature to pulp fiction to the latest shows on Netflix.</p><p>Written by philosophers Samuel Lebens and Tatjana von Solodkoff it engages with fundamental questions about fiction such as: What is it? What does it give us? Does a story need a narrator? And why do sad stories make us cry if we know they aren’t real? The format of the book emulates a lively verbal exchange: each chapter has only one author while the other appears spontaneously in dialogues in the text along the way raising questions and voicing criticisms and inviting responses from their co-author. This unique format allows readers to feel like they are a part of the conversation about the philosophical foundations of some of the fictions in their own lives.</p><p>Key Features</p><ul> <li>Draws on a wide range of types of narrative fiction from <i>Harry Potter</i> to <i>Breakfast of Champions</i> to <em>Parks and Recreation</em> </li> <li>Explores how fiction despite its detachment from truth is often best able to teach us important things about the world in which we live</li> <li>Concludes by asking in the final chapter whether we all might be fictions</li> <li>Includes bibliographies and suggested reading lists in each chapter</li> </ul>