Objective, Subjective And Inter-Subjective

Consciousness divides reality into two realms, objective and subjective, and human consciousness creates a third realm, the inter-subjective -

objective, e.g., material objects and the force of gravity;

subjective, e.g., immediate sensations and individual imaginings;

inter-subjective: shared beliefs and values.

Imaginings that are aesthetically ordered and published become fictions, requiring willing suspension of disbelief, whereas the more robust imaginings that become shared convictions and thus become inter-subjective require belief, whether willing or unwilling. A child believes in God because he is told that he does and that his elders do whereas each of us believes in the value of the dollar because everyone else does and acts accordingly. Thus, it is easier for the child to stop believing in God than for us to stop believing in the dollar although the time will come when every dollar bill reverts to its inherent status as worthless green paper.

In Poul Anderson's History of Technic Civilization, Nicholas van Rijn founds a company whereas Manuel Argos later founds an empire, two legal fictions. The profits of Solar Spice & Liquors depend on the value of the currency of the Solar Commonwealth and of any Polesotechnic League currency. However, van Rijn directly experiences these values! Meanwhile, he accepts religious beliefs but leaves the details to professional theologians. That is their paid job. Argos founds the Terran Empire, modeled on the historical Roman Empire, granting citizenship - another convenient fiction - to worthy non-humans.

Thus, we might celebrate van Rijn and Argos as two worthy authors of fiction.