Part of the Royal Institute of Philosophy London Lecture Series 2017: Passions and the Emotions.
Within contemporary analytical philosophy there continues to be a lively debate about the emotions we feel for fictional characters. How, for example, can we feel sad about Anna Karenina, despite knowing that she doesn't exist? In this lecture, Susan James proposes that we can get a clearer view of this issue by turning to Spinoza, who urges us to take a different approach to feelings of this kind.