Truthmakers and Fiction: a Meinongian Approach

• Grant number: 24/17481-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2029
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Philosophy - Metaphysics
• Principal Investigator: Marco Antonio Caron Ruffino
• Grantee: Renato Semaniuc Valvassori
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project aims to develop a Meinongian truthmaking theory to deal withpropositions about nonexistent objects and, more specifically, fictional objects.The thesis to be defended in this research, ultimately, is that a truthmaking theoryrejecting the principles of the Quinean metaontology tends to be the most adequate to explain truths in fictional, metafictional, and parafictional contexts.First, we will analyze the main theories about truths concerning fictional objects.We will then analyze the main metaontological perspectives regarding the ontological status of fictional objects and the main anti-Meinongian truthmaking theories for fictional, metafictional, and parafictional contexts.Finally, we will thoroughly develop a Meinongian truthmaking theory to deal with facts about fictional objects, comparing its advantages and disadvantages with more traditional theories that accept Quinean metaontological principles.