4. Liao: Fiction, Imagination, Morals

Front 1

The way a fiction influences our moral actions and thoughts importantly depends on its _______.

Back 1

genre

Front 2

Philosophers have historically not been sensitive to what?

Back 2

Not sensitive to diversity of “fiction”

Front 3

Different ________ of __________ offer different ____________ of moral persuasion.

Back 3

Different genres of ficiton offer different modes of moral persuasion.

Front 4

Philosophers have historically only used what sort of fiction to understand analyze all fictions?

Back 4

FOCUS just one sort of fiction--realism.

Front 5

There are two perspectives within fictions. What are they?

Back 5

REAL-WORLD and MAKE BELIEVE PERSPECTIVES

Front 6

What's the distinction between real world and make believe perspectives?

Back 6

(MAKE BELIEVE)
distinction between the moral outlook that a fiction gets us to imagine

(REAL WORLD)
and the moral outlook that a fiction gets us to believe as a result of our imaginative engagement

Front 7

There's also a moral distinction between what in fictions?

Back 7

“represent” a morality, and
“recommend” a morality

Front 8

A fiction is responsible for what ?

Back 8

a normal audience would come to believe and come to imagine as a result of imaginatively engaging with the fiction.

Front 9

A ______ is responsible for what a _____________ __________ would come to ___________ and come to ___________ as a result of _______________ engaging with the fiction.

Back 9

A fiction is responsible for what a normal audience would come to believe and come to imagine as a result of imaginatively engaging with the fiction.

Front 10

Example of exception?

Back 10

Harry Potter, single Scar-hater example of not responsible

Front 11

Makes some kind of distinction between, to determine what is "normal"?

Back 11

“statistically typical” and “normality”

Front 12

Which one is evaluative?

Back 12

normality....

Front 13

Why does this distinction suck? focus on which word?

Back 13

But it seems like this is a pretty meaningless distinction as I read it, because when faced with exceptions, Liao makes the ad hoc move to say, “well we don’t think the effect of the Harry Potter reader is normal.” Uh, so who’s we? That sounds statistically founded, or Liao is just the arbiter of normality.

"WE" don't think...

Front 14

The three genres Liao discusses?

Back 14

realist, satire, horror comedy

Front 15

_________ mode of persuasion says what?

Back 15

A fiction is responsible for getting us to really adopt a moral (or immoral) real-world perspective when it is responsible for getting us to imaginatively adopt a moral (or immoral) make-believe perspective.

Front 16

Realist mode of persuasion says that a _________ is ___________ for getting us to really adopt a ___________ ___ _______________ real-world perspective when it is responsible for getting us to __________________ adopt a ___________ ____ ____________ make-believe ____________

Back 16

A fiction is responsible for getting us to really adopt a moral (or immoral) real-world perspective when it is responsible for getting us to imaginatively adopt a moral (or immoral) make-believe perspective.

Front 17

Satire?

Back 17

SATIRE: When engaging with this fiction, we readers are prescribed to imaginatively adopt a make-believe perspective that treats the morally absurd as normal and sensible. In doing so, the reader realizes the absurdity and correctly understands the work.

Front 18

Horror comedy?

Back 18

We needn’t take these seriously either, even with the excessive violence, because a decapitation scene is funny when it’s morally or psychologically non-realistic. Liao considers the objections from research that indicate that violence actually impacts people’s response to violence by desensitizing them. Luckily we can disregard their research in favor of the research that Liao claims exists to the contrary, which is conspicuously without citation. Liao takes care of this by supplying us with a subsequent quote from a single author who mentions that realistic violence is worse than fantastic violence (which does not mean, as Liao seems to interpret, that fantastic horror is off the hook.] Liao also lets us know that further empirical research needn’t be done, because sensitivity to genre will ‘fulfill this need.’

Front 19

According to genre persuasion variantism, what?

Back 19

According to genre persuasion variantism: a fiction’s mode of persuasion depends on the genre(s) in which it is appropriately classified for a given aim or context. In other words, a particular genre offers pro tanto reasons for assessing its mode of persuasion.

Front 20

In horror, decapitation scene: don't take a fiction to be real world, or recommending reality when it is _________________ ___ ________________ ________________

Back 20

morally or psychologically non-realistic.

Front 21

According to ___________ ______________ ______________: a fiction’s mode of persuasion depends on the genre(s) in which it is appropriately classified for a given aim or context. In other words, a particular genre offers pro tanto reasons for assessing its mode of persuasion.

Back 21

genre persuasion variantism:

Front 22

For Satire you are __________ to ____________ adopt a ______-_________ ___________ that treats the morally _________ as _________

Back 22

prescribed to imaginatively adopt a make-believe perspective that treats the morally absurd as normal