Noun
paradox of fiction (plural paradoxes of fiction)
(philosophy) The paradox that (i) people have emotional responses to fictitious events, and (ii) one must believe that something truly exists in order to be emotionally moved by it, but (iii) nobody who considers an event to be fictitious can also believe it to be real.
But there's the paradox of fiction - why do you cry when a fake character dies? It's the basis of art. You engage with people who don't exist and care about them as you would your friends and relatives. Michael Gruber