Philosophical Conceptualisation of the Phenomenon of Fantastic

Abstract

The article presents an attempt to illuminate and discuss the possibility of conceptualizing the fantastic in the frameworks of classical and postmodern philosophical paradigms. It is suggested that primary concepts include ontological (being and nonbeing), epistemological (belief and doubt), and worldview (natural and supernatural) categories. Building upon the aforementioned notions, the author adds new constructs from the arsenal of post-nonclassical philosophy (transgression and limit). The study shows that theorizing about the transgressional experience of fantastic is only possible through overcoming the common belief in the dichotomy between real and unreal, natural and supernatural, reliable and unbelievable. Only such an approach is conducive to maintaining the unified meaning of the phenomenon of fantastic.