FICTA AS CONTINGENTLY NONCONCRETE

Fictional realism allows direct reference theorists to provide a straightforward analysis of the semantics of fictional discourse by admitting into their ontology a set of objects (ficta) that serve as the referents of fictional names. Ficta may be modelled using an axiomatic object theory, but actualise interpretations of the formalism have been the subject of recent objections. In this paper, the author provides an interpretation of object theory’s formalism that is consistent with actualism and avoids these objections. Drawing on insights from an actual semantics for quantified modal logic, a central point in his proposal is to interpret ficta as contingently nonconcrete objects.