[spellbanisher]

Prior the modern commercial markets almost all books, fiction or nonfiction, were didactic or mimetic nature. They were didactic in that they were written to instruct, educate, or enlighten. Epic poems can be said to be mimetic (think mimic) in that they provide examples for people to imitate or mimic. In Ancient Greece, for instance, with any event or problem you encountered you would try to think of some comparable scene or passage in an epic poem, and then you would try to act as the character from that scene or passage would act in your situation. It's similar to how Christians try to determine what they should do in any given situation by asking, “What would Jesus do?”

These older works, mostly prenineteenth century, can be considered knowledge, or at least means of conveying knowledge, because they tried to show people how to live, or at least give examples. But most modern works are written with no such purpose in mind. Most modern works are written to entertain; they are written for escapist purposes.

So the question is, should fiction that is not didactic or mimetic be considered knowledge? Of course, your answer to this question will depend on your definition of knowledge, so it would be helpful to give that as well.