議論としてのフィクション

Abstract

Critical thinking is a skill to critically examine arguments, i.e. claims with reasons. The typical object of critical thinking is factual claims or value judgements; fictional works like novels, movies and mangas are not within usual scope of such examination. This is understandable because it does not make much sense to ask the validity of factual statements in fictional works. However, there are other types of fictions that need to be critically examined; namely, so-called fake news. This paper tries to offer an integrated account of critical examination of fictions utilizing Grice's principle of cooperation. This paper regards fictional works and fake news as two subcategories of fiction. Fictions are defined as a storytelling where the sender of the story is aware that the story does not correspond with the reality. The difference between fictional works and fake news is the format of the information; while fictional works are sent in a format that signals the work is a work of fiction for aesthetic appreciation, fake news have apparently similar formats as other factual information. These two types of fiction can be the subject of critical thinking in two ways; As claims themselves, and as arguments that lead to implicit claims. The latter type of understanding is implicit when we call certain films as ‘anti-war films’; the claim that war is bad or something is implicit in such films and the events in the film serve as grounds for such a claim somehow. We can use Grice’s theory to reveal such an implicit claim behind a fictional work. By comparing fictional works and fake news, we can also analyze more deeply what is wrong with fake news.