A fictionalist is one who aims to secure the benefits of talking as if certain kinds of things exist—numbers, moral properties, possible worlds, composite objects, or whatever—while avoiding commitment to believing in their existence. This understanding of fictionalism is broad and ecumenical, and it should be noted that fictionalism is frequently used in the recent literature to refer to one or other of the more specific doctrines that this entry discusses.

1. Fictionalism and Fictions

Consider paradigm cases of works of fiction such as J. R. R. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings or Charles Dickens's Christmas Carol. On some occasions, such works of fiction are taken as the object of philosophical enquiry and explanation. In that case, as one would expect, there are competing philosophical accounts of the nature of fiction—competing answers to such questions as the following: whether hobbits exist; whether it is true that...