There is some dissension over whether or not fiction is beneficial. Some people have argued that fiction is a complete waste of everyone’s time. This is because people are learning about characters that are not real. Psychologists have proven that people develop parasocial attachments to these fictional characters because they learn to empathize with them. Instead of developing crucial relationships with real people, those who read fiction tend to empathize with fictional characters who cannot reciprocate. So, why is fiction worth it? Why should we continue reading fiction?

1. Fiction enhances theory of mind

Theory of mind is ultimately empathy; it is the ability to cogitate the different perspectives of others. When reading fiction, a person is immersed in a new mindset and perspective. Fiction does not give the reader the opportunity to have a dialogue with the characters, but instead the reader must follow along with the perspective that is delineated for them. Since we have many behavioral and cognitive patterns that can dictate our thought patterns, fiction can break us out of those patterns to think differently and more deeply.

2. It is vicarious gratification

When people read fiction, they are mentally transported into a different world. Fiction allows every reader to engage in an escape that can gratify anything they feel is missing from their daily lives. While living vicariously through fiction novels can be harmful if a person chooses to ignore reality too much, fiction can also provide a temporary escape from drudgeries, tragedies, and forced isolation. The vicarious experience of fiction can provide an experience that a person cannot have immediately in their daily life.

3. There are objective truths in fiction

The one aspect of fiction that remains real and realistic at all times are the human breadth of emotions and descriptions of body language. The only means to making the fictitious world real for readers is by providing avid descriptions that readers can relate to. Readers are given deep descriptions of body language and emotions of the characters that they read about. Body language and emotions have been consistent over all time, so reading fiction gives readers the skills to “read” the people around them by observing the emotional reactions that are also found in books.

4. Fiction can act as a vehicle for philosophical ideals

Many authors use the dialogue between characters to argue different philosophical points. Thus, fictional characters can embody the different arguments that people come across daily when making important moral and ethical decisions in their lives. Most people base their decisions on their cultural and moral values, and reading fiction that embodies either assenting or dissenting values and motivate the reader to evaluate those values.

5. It increases the appreciation for cultural relativism

There is no “superior perspective” that should be valued above all others when it comes to culture, like no color is superior to any other color. When people read fiction, they learn to appreciate diversity because fiction is the ultimate provider of all literary diversity. Anything can happen in fiction because anything can be written down. People do not always attempt to understand diverse perspectives in daily life but reading fiction can allow them to do so in a safe way without the possibility of becoming offensive. Fiction reminds people to think outside of the box because sometimes the only way to find a solution to a problem is to think outside of the box. Fiction reminds us that life does not always have to be boxed up.