Final answer:
Synthetic knowledge in fictionalism is produced through creative interpretation and imaginative expansion, facilitating different kinds of truth through our engagement with fiction. It challenges our preconceived notions and helps us understand new principles or categories of thought that transcend our empirical experiences.
Step-by-step explanation:
Synthetic knowledge in the context of fictionalism is produced through the creative interpretation and imaginative expansion of our understanding of the world. When we engage with fiction, we do so by entering a world of the author’s conception, where familiar rules can be bent and new ideas can flourish. This is not to say that synthetic knowledge is devoid of truth; rather, it allows for a different kind of truth that is derived from our human capacity to imagine, empathize, and reason through narratives that might never happen in the real world.
In reading fiction critically, we test out ideas and scenarios that challenge our preconceived notions and potentially alter our conceptual framework. Fictionalism allows us to access synthetic knowledge by enabling us to 'fill in' gaps left by reality, using plausible alternatives that still adhere to the internal logic of the narrative. By engaging with stories and characters, we learn about human psychology, ethics, and possibilities that transcend our everyday experiences.
Furthermore, synthetic knowledge is organized in the mind as new principles or categories, under the umbrella of transcendental idealism. Fiction, by virtue of its freedom from empirical truth, lets us create and understand synthetic a priori propositions. These are concepts that are formed independently of concrete experiences, yet help us to make sense of the empirical world in which we live.