The point of reading fiction?

[patrick_mcmurray]

I have read very little fiction over the past few years because I find it difficult to see why I should spend time studying something that isn't real.

The only fiction that I have read recently is things like James Bond novels (recommended, and rather different to the films - suspense, not action). I read these for entertainment and enjoyed them. This is perhaps enough reason in itself. Good escapism.

However I guess my real question is this: is there something that we can learn from fiction?

What is the point of reading Tolstoy etc? Is it just more entertainment?

The phrase "emotional education" springs to mind. Can we actually learn from the expereinces of fictional characters (even if these are drawn from those of the author him or herself)? Or do we need to taste the pain for ourselves? : )

Does it promote empathy? Does it allow us to put ourselves in the shoes of others? This is a nice idea but how would it really work. In a novel we are given information about the characters and even mayabe access into their internal thoughts. I guess that we have to use our imaginations to join the dots of their characters. As in real life, the information will be incomplete. (Although it seems to me that in novels the information will not be as ambiguous as it is in real life). Perhaps it helps us to join the dots when trying to understand (construct, perceive) people that we meet in real life.

So does reading great novels inform us in a way that we could not obtain from reading, say, a textbook on psychology?

Similar questions could be asked about listening to music, I guess. Especially classical music, which is another area that I find difficult to understand.

I guess another angle is appreciating the novel as a novel - ie the art form itself. Perhaps you might think that it's just a beautiful thing and so stands in it's own right.

Well, that's just a few meandering thoughts. Seems to me to be an appropriate thread for the Lounge though, and I'd be interested to hear your comments.

Patrick.

[Tron]

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The phrase "emotional education" springs to mind. Can we actually learn from the expereinces of fictional characters (even if these are drawn from those of the author him or herself)?

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I think you are spot-on with this paragraph, and I very much believe the answer to that question is "Yes"

[acoustix]

I'd say the basic answer to this is things like Tolstoy's books and other great fiction works are like elaborate fables. They have morals within the story, just like a fable, except they are not as exagerated. Also it is mainly for entertainment. Again, this is a very basic answer.

[CIncyHR]

Besides the intrinsic artistic value of a good piece of literature, I think that fiction lets us learn about the human condition (to use a completely cliched phrase). Its our best way to understand how humans think and interact with each other, and I think good fiction helps us answer the qustions we all have about our lives.

[patrick_mcmurray]

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Besides the intrinsic artistic value of a good piece of literature, I think that fiction lets us learn about the human condition (to use a completely cliched phrase). Its our best way to understand how humans think and interact with each other, and I think good fiction helps us answer the qustions we all have about our lives.

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I guess the question that I'm wondering about is as to the difference between fiction and psychology / philosophy.

From a practical point of view there might be more incentive to read fiction because these other subjects are perhaps harder reads.

But perhaps there is something intrinsically more accessible to the ideas if we can attach them to characters? Maybe people will always interest and influence us more than abstractions?

[Utah]

I think your post was very interesting on its face. But, I am curious what it says about someone who would ask what I perceive thier question to be - "why should I dream?" I think that is probably even more interesting

I don't read a ton of fiction because I am always so busy but I think the mind has an incredibly strong need to fantisize and fiction books are a great way to do that (although non-fiction books can do the same thing - e.g., Into Thin Air can place you on a mountain top in a deadly blizard fighting for your life).

I strongly believe that brilliant and creative thinking comes from the fantastical part of the mind and not the logical part (I argued this in an interesting thread in the science forum a few months back). I would bet all my money that fiction books do a better job of helping someone think creatively than instructional type books ever could. I believe that knowledge (although sometimes neccessary) is often the great killer of creative thinking and it is often someone new that steps into a situation that has the best ideas and/or the ability to pull them off because they are not constrained by all the standard issues - i.e., they are too stupid to know better and so they just dream and do.

There are also great lessons and things to ponder in fiction. For example, take the book "Of Mice and Men" where it taught us about the "best laid schemes of mice and men" and it taught us the value of not being practical (in the scene when the men blow a month's pay in town). Take the book Shane where it taught us that one cannot escape their inherent nature or their past. The list is of course endless. I would think these lessons are easier to convey in fiction because of the artistic license fiction grants.

Also, some believe fiction is valuable simply because it is fun to read [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[CIncyHR]

Well psychology is science, and is therefore somewhat limited in its scope, while literature and philosophy are not.

AS far as philosophy is concerned, there arent many philosophers known for their beautiful use of prose (though there are some). And I do think youre right about the identification with characters. While it is possible to read philosophy and say "Yeah, I see how that applies to my life" it is more common to be reading a piece of literature and identify, within a fictional caharacter, pieces of yourself and people you know, and then you can use that identification as a springboard to learn something about yourself/your acquaintences.

[Georgia Avenue]

Your question could and should be expanded to: what's the point of art? In my opinion, there is none. It's not something you appreciate or learn from...it just exists. Beyond that, I'd argue that it is fundamental to human life, and happiness.

--GA

[Paluka]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Besides the intrinsic artistic value of a good piece of literature, I think that fiction lets us learn about the human condition (to use a completely cliched phrase). Its our best way to understand how humans think and interact with each other, and I think good fiction helps us answer the qustions we all have about our lives.

[/ QUOTE ]

I guess the question that I'm wondering about is as to the difference between fiction and psychology / philosophy.

From a practical point of view there might be more incentive to read fiction because these other subjects are perhaps harder reads.

But perhaps there is something intrinsically more accessible to the ideas if we can attach them to characters? Maybe people will always interest and influence us more than abstractions?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think most people read fiction to learn things. They read fiction to be entertained, primarily. Many great books can be both entertaining and educational, luckily. I think I learn things from fiction simply because the ideas presented to me trigger my brain to think about new things. I guess this is what they mean by "thought-provoking".

[CIncyHR]

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[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Besides the intrinsic artistic value of a good piece of literature, I think that fiction lets us learn about the human condition (to use a completely cliched phrase). Its our best way to understand how humans think and interact with each other, and I think good fiction helps us answer the qustions we all have about our lives.

[/ QUOTE ]

I guess the question that I'm wondering about is as to the difference between fiction and psychology / philosophy.

From a practical point of view there might be more incentive to read fiction because these other subjects are perhaps harder reads.

But perhaps there is something intrinsically more accessible to the ideas if we can attach them to characters? Maybe people will always interest and influence us more than abstractions?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think most people read fiction to learn things. They read fiction to be entertained, primarily. Many great books can be both entertaining and educational, luckily. I think I learn things from fiction simply because the ideas presented to me trigger my brain to think about new things. I guess this is what they mean by "thought-provoking".

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When I said 'learn' I didnt mean they were gonig to get a moral, or lesson out of it. Sometimes thats the case, but more often than not it isnt. I just think when you read ficion (especially good fiction) you end up just "knowing" more about life and people, etc.