A Phenomenological Study of Fictional Emotions in "Homegoing" and "Dreaming in Cuban"

<p class="ql-align-justify">This research investigates the impact of literary narratives on human cognition and emotions to address the paradox of fiction (PoF). An interdisciplinary framework is used to discuss phenomenological concepts like phantasy ego and irrealization by examining the positing of the human subject. This study integrates phenomenological concepts with perspectives from cognitive philosophy of mind. Literary narratives like Yaa Gyasi’s <em>Homegoing </em>and Cristina García’s <em>Dreaming in Cuban</em> are examined to promote a reciprocal illumination of theoretical concepts and literary texts. The early cognitivist approach to investigating the paradox as a problem to be resolved is reconsidered in the study by utilizing foundational concepts of phenomenology, corroborated with contemporary views in cognitive philosophy. The paradox is explored as a heuristic tool to analyze the complexity of fictional emotion. The character’s consciousness is aligned with the reader’s consciousness to demonstrate the influence of as-if states, imagination, and memory. The role of phantasy ego, alief, and enactivist embodiment is considered to investigate the visceral emotional experience of a reader that moves beyond mere propositional beliefs.</p>