Learning Implicit Biases from Fiction

Abstract Philosophers and psychologists have argued that fiction can ethically educate us: fiction supposedly can make us better people. This view has been contested. It is, however, rarely argued that fiction can morally “corrupt” us. In this article, we focus on the alleged power of fiction to dec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Journal of aesthetics and art criticism Vol. 80; no. 2; pp. 129 - 139
Main Authors Goffin, Kris, Friend, Stacie
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford Oxford University Press 26.04.2022
Subjects
Bias
Ethics
Fiction
Influence
Prejudice
Teaching methods
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Summary:Abstract Philosophers and psychologists have argued that fiction can ethically educate us: fiction supposedly can make us better people. This view has been contested. It is, however, rarely argued that fiction can morally “corrupt” us. In this article, we focus on the alleged power of fiction to decrease one's prejudices and biases. We argue that if fiction has the power to change prejudices and biases for the better, then it can also have the opposite effect. We further argue that fictions are more likely to be a bad influence than a good one.
ISSN:0021-8529
1540-6245
DOI:10.1093/jaac/kpab078