Hans Vaihinger

Hans Vaihinger (September 25, 1852 – December 18, 1933) was a German philosopher, best known for his work as a Kant scholar and for his influential book, *Die Philosophie des Als Ob* (*The Philosophy of 'As if'*), published in 1911. Vaihinger argued that human beings, unable to know the true reality of the world, construct systems of thought and then act as if these models correspond to reality. He termed this concept 'fictionalism' and suggested that these fictions, while theoretically untrue, can have great practical importance. He used examples from science, such as protons and electrons, which are not directly observable but are crucial to scientific understanding. Vaihinger's philosophy has been seen as a precursor to scientific modeling and has influenced various fields, including psychology (notably Alfred Adler and George Kelly) and literary criticism (Frank Kermode and James Hillman). Despite some criticism, his work has experienced a resurgence of interest.