PRECEDENT PHENOMENA OF EMPIRICAL AND VIRTUAL REALITY IN TEXTS OF FANTASY GENRE

Abstract

The study of precedent phenomena is a relevant issue in contemporary linguistics. Scientists have developed various classifications of precedent phenomena, including a categorization based on whether they belong to virtual or empirical reality. However, this classification is only mentioned in a few scientific works, so it needs to be studied in more detail, particularly because of its significance for the study of fantasy genre texts. The purpose of this article is to clarify the essence of the concept of «virtual reality» and to divide the sources of precedent phenomena in fantasy texts according to their belonging to virtual or empirical reality. The earliest studies of virtuality date back to Antiquity, although the term itself in its modern form does not appear in the works of ancient Greek and Roman philosophers, who associated the virtual with the potentially possible. Postmodernist philosophers also studied virtual reality and defined it as consisting of simulacra – copies whose referents never existed in empirical reality. Scientists consider simulacra to be real only in a virtual sense. The characteristics of virtual reality are generativity, relevance, interactivity, autonomy, and imitation of empirical reality. Some researchers interpret art as virtual reality because it is generated by reality but does not copy it and does not have a clear prototype, and works of art create the illusion of reality. In addition to precedent phenomena originating in art, virtual reality includes sources such as mythology, folklore, and religion. It is important to note that precedent texts belong to empirical reality, while their content belongs to virtual reality. Precedent phenomena from various fields of science and the social sphere (contemporary and historical cultural, political, and social events, phenomena, figures, organizations, etc.) originate from empirical reality.