Fiction

An ancient modeling technology

Abstract

This paper conceptualizes fiction as a modeling technology. The proximal function of fiction would 
be to favor the modeling of experiences, information and facts into creative models of lives and worlds. It is a 
complementary treatment to the conceptions of fiction as entertainment technology (Baumard and Dubourg) 
and simulation technology (Mar and Oatley; Gottschall; Scalise Sugiyama). Such conceptions have a basis in 
cognitive or evolutionary psychology. They are still descriptively relevant, but, as it is argued, they do not quite 
clarify fiction’s specificity. The paper’s goal is to provide that specificity.