ABSTRACT
Philosophers of literature and philosophers of film have appealed to thought experiments (TEs) in attempting to answer a much-voiced objection to the claim that the fictional narratives articulated in works of literary and cinematic fiction can further our understanding of the extra-fictional world and thereby have cognitive value. The charge against “cognitivist” claims concerning such works is that their fictional narratives can provide at best interesting hypotheses whose credibility requires independent empirical support. In responding to this charge, some supporters of artistic cognitivism have reasoned as follows:
TEs are accorded a cognitive value in science and philosophy.
Such TEs are themselves short fictional narratives.
There is no principled reason why the lengthier fictional narratives presented in works of literature and cinema cannot also serve as thought experiments and have a similar cognitive value.
