Act of Fiction: Simultaneously Experienced Multiple Perspectives of (Un)reality When Engaging with Narrative-Based Art

Abstract The authors propose a new conception of the mechanism that occurs during a narrative-based art experience—the “Act of Fiction.” They claim that there is no “suspension of disbelief” but rather something more similar to our decision-making systems, enabling us to simultaneously be present in the real and the unreal (fictional). The article’s first part contains a narrative account in which an Act of Fiction takes place; it exemplifies what it also describes. The second part provides an analysis of this phenomenon through a review of current literature and our position on it. The third part proposes an outline for a primary examination of what might be happening in the brain in the experience of an Act of Fiction. The authors conclude by suggesting directions for future research.