paradox of fiction

noun

The paradox that (i) people have emotional responses to fictitious events, and (ii) one must believe that something truly exists in order to be emotionally moved by it, but (iii) nobody who considers an event to be fictitious can also believe it to be real.

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Meanings

nounparadox of fiction (plural paradoxes of fiction)

plural paradoxes of fiction

  1. human sciencesThe paradox that (i) people have emotional responses to fictitious events, and (ii) one must believe that something truly exists in order to be emotionally moved by it, but (iii) nobody who considers an event to be fictitious can also believe it to be real.
Cite this entry
APA

paradox of fiction. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paradox%20of%20fiction

MLA

“paradox of fiction.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paradox%20of%20fiction. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “paradox of fiction,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paradox%20of%20fiction.

Source: paradox of fiction on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.