<p>Why humans (most of them, and certainly all those around me) enjoy fictional stories in one form or the other - novels, films, theater performances? </p>

<p>The starting assumption is that there must be an evolutionary advantage to it. Related, might be the question of why humans do and enjoy music.</p>

<p>Why don't we stick to hard facts, true stories and the like?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-22T23:22:50.840Z
The "fiction may be twice as true as fact" makes sense to me. A writer contrives fiction to make a point that didn't occur in fact. A well-crafted point can hit home with readers, who *like* the story if that contrived fiction strikes a chord with them.
Martha Bratton
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-07-26T01:14:59.977Z
Can we truly tell if something is fact or fiction? When we read science fiction books from the past, we find numerous true predictions. In the time when the book was written, it was fiction, but today it is fact. Perhaps the books sparked an idea, then science made it reality. Or if it's a fantasy book, how do we know that it didn't truly happen? Perhaps there really are fairies, I just haven't been lucky enough to see one and those who have would rather not say in case people think they're crazy.
Yvonne Liew
<evolution><aesthetics>
Why do humans enjoy works of fiction?
Jordan Potoro
# Why do humans enjoy works of fiction?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-09-25)

Why humans (most of them, and certainly all those around me) enjoy fictional stories in one form or the other - novels, films, theater performances?

The starting assumption is that there must be an evolutionary advantage to it. Related, might be the question of why humans do and enjoy music.

Why don't we stick to hard facts, true stories and the like?

**Tags:** evolution, aesthetics

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The "fiction may be twice as true as fact" makes sense to me. A writer contrives fiction to make a point that didn't occur in fact. A well-crafted point can hit home with readers, who *like* the story if that contrived fiction strikes a chord with them.  
> **username_2**: Can we truly tell if something is fact or fiction? When we read science fiction books from the past, we find numerous true predictions. In the time when the book was written, it was fiction, but today it is fact. Perhaps the books sparked an idea, then science made it reality. Or if it's a fantasy book, how do we know that it didn't truly happen? Perhaps there really are fairies, I just haven't been lucky enough to see one and those who have would rather not say in case people think they're crazy.  

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## 0 answers

