Hans Vaihingers Philosophie des Als Ob in Literatur und Literaturtheorie

Abstract

Abstract Hans Vaihinger’s Die Philosophie des Als Ob met with significant response immediately after its first publication in 1911. How did writers of those days receive Vaihinger’s theory? In the following there are presented three prominent writers in context with their productive reception of the Philosophy of the As If. The impact of Vaihinger’s fictionalism on literary theory is analysed. Finally, reflections and texts inspired by Vaihinger are to be discussed besides a possible answer to the question of what made Vaihinger’s fictionalism appealing to literature and literary theory.