Counterfactual thinking, counterfactual writing
By: edited by Dorothee Birke, Michael Butter, Tilmann Köppe
Series: Linguae & litterae -- 12
Publisher: De Gruyter
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Berlin; Boston
Language: eng
Number of pages: 256
ISBN-13: 9783110268584
Subjects: Social aspects; Theory of Knowledge; Reality in literature; Philosophy; Counterfactuals (Logic)
Description: "Counterfactuality is currently a hotly debated topic. While for some disciplines such as linguistics, cognitive science, or psychology counterfactual scenarios have been an important object of study for quite a while, counterfactual thinking has in recent years emerged as a method of study for other disciplines, most notably the social sciences. This volume provides an overview of the current definitions and uses of the concept of counterfactuality in philosophy, historiography, political sciences, psychology, linguistics, physics, and literary studies. The individual contributions not only engage the controversies that the deployment of counterfactual thinking as a method still generates, they also highlight the concept's potential to promote interdisciplinary exchange without neglecting the limitations and pitfalls of such a project. Moreover, the essays from literary studies, which make up about half of the volume, provide both a historical and a systematic perspective on the manifold ways in which counterfactual scenarios can be incorporated into and deployed in literary texts."--Publisher's website.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.