Precis of Mimesis as Make-Believe: On the Foundations of the Representational Arts

Mimesis as Make-Believe is primarily an exploration of the workings of the representational arts, among which I count novels, stories, figurative painting and sculpture, theater, and film as paradigmatic instances. I give approximately equal billing to literary and depictive forms of representation, although my commentators concentrate somewhat on the latter. The vehicle by which I conduct this exploration is an analogy with children's games of make-believe. No one will find this analogy surprising or far fetched, but it is distinctly unconventional. My approach contrasts sharply with the more common emphasis, especially in recent discussions of the representational arts, on analogies with language. The practice of make-believe extends far beyond children's games and the representational arts. I articulate a general theory of make-believe likely to have many other applications as well. But except for treating problems concerning fictitious entities and existence claims, I concentrate on the insight that the notion of make-believe can provide in understanding novels, paintings, films, and the like-what it is for a work to be representational, the nature and significance of differences among representations, and the ways in which representations of various kinds are important in our lives. Children's games and representational art both involve fictional worlds. There is the world of a game of cops and robbers, and there are worlds of stories and paintings. Understanding and appreciating such worlds, in both cases, involves exercising the imagination. These evident points of similarity do not get us very far, however. The main advantage of pursuing the analogy lies elsewhere. Children are active participants in make-believe, and they belong to the worlds of their games. It is true in the world of a game of cops and rob-