Abstract This interdisciplinary study offers an exploration of the polysemy of the term “fiction,” as a possible tool which could contribute to conceptualizing the links and exchanges between Law and Literature. The starting point is the theory of fictions developed by Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832). Although Bentham early expressed his distrust of legal, religious and political fictions, he acknowledged the interest of logical fictions in the constitution of knowledge. Later thinkers like Hans Vaihinger and Michel Foucault further elaborated on the heuristic value of fictions. Could literary fiction too constitute a heuristic tool? The hypothesis is tested by looking at the way Bentham’s penal theory was reflected in late eighteenth-century Gothic and Victorian literary works, as well as the way his Principles of Penal Law and Panopticon letters rely on literary devices and the production of numerous scenarios. Reading Bentham’s writings alongside Gothic and sensation literature—with works by William Godwin, Charles Maturin, Ann Radcliffe, and Wilkie Collins—makes it possible to map out the points at which penal theory and literary discourse meet.

中文翻译：

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在法律与文学的十字路口；论小说在杰里米·边沁刑事理论中的作用

摘要 这项跨学科研究探索了“小说”一词的多义性，将其作为一种有助于概念化法律与文学之间联系和交流的可能工具。起点是杰里米·边沁（Jeremy Bentham，1748-1832）发展的小说理论。尽管边沁很早就表达了他对法律、宗教和政治虚构的不信任，但他承认逻辑虚构对知识构成的兴趣。汉斯·维兴格 (Hans Vaihinger) 和米歇尔·福柯 (Michel Foucault) 等后来的思想家进一步阐述了小说的启发式价值。文学小说也能成为一种启发式工具吗？通过观察边沁的刑罚理论在 18 世纪晚期哥特式和维多利亚时代文学作品中的反映方式来检验该假设，以及他的《刑法原则》和 Panopticon 信件依靠文学手段和众多场景的制作方式。阅读边沁的著作以及哥特式和轰动文学——以及威廉·戈德温、查尔斯·马图林、安·拉德克利夫和威尔基·柯林斯的作品——可以勾勒出刑法理论和文学话语的交汇点。