The concept of relationship. Epistemological considerations about the cognitive value of fiction

Abstract

This article develops the notion of relationship described by Aristotle in his Órganon, in order to establish a cognitive foundation for audiovisual fiction. The discussion is framed in the context of a certain contention about the concept of reference, brought into question by theoretical approaches such as structuralism, semiotics, the field of cultural studies, and narratology. Concurrently, the application of the notion of relationship to the audiovisual object implies the creation of a dialogue between four of the essential works of Aristotle (Poetics, Nichomachean Ethics, Organ and Rhetoric), emphasizing the dramatic nature of audiovisual fiction over its narrative quality, while underscoring the concepts of need and verisimilitude as the main traits of its logical dimension. Through this study, the Aristotelian concept of mimesis praxeos is reviewed within the framework of representation, as opposed to the more limited interpretation of the Platonic mimesis, which is separated from praxis and consequently rejected as anti-philosophical (by way of the triple degradation of ideas.)