Prototype theory, which argues that categories have graded (and thus fuzzy) membership based on prototypes, has been used as cognitive evidence to support moral particularism because if categories (in moral rules) only have fuzzy conceptual boundaries, moral rules are not enough for moral judgment, as specific situations also need to be considered to determine how these fuzzy categories should be understood, which is what moral particularism believes. The importance of literature for ethics, especially for moral imagination, has also been extensively discussed because literature can provide vivid examples for us to imagine different moral dilemmas, the consequences of different moral choices, and the feelings of different people facing different situations. Martha Nussbaum specifically argues that the literary form is the only adequate form to imagine certain complex moral situations. By analyzing concrete literary examples as well as the related ethical discussions and empirical findings, this article argues that, building on Nussbaum’s argument, prototype theory can serve as a cognitive basis for the importance of literary form for moral imagination, because the literary form’s tolerance of ambiguity suits how we ambiguously categorize the world.

中文翻译：

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原型理论和文学形式对道德想象的重要性

原型理论认为类别根据原型对成员资格进行了分级（因此是模糊的），已被用作支持道德特殊论的认知证据，因为如果类别（在道德规则中）仅具有模糊的概念边界，则道德规则不足以用于道德特殊论判断，因为还需要考虑具体情况来确定如何理解这些模糊类别，这就是道德特殊主义所认为的。文学对于伦理尤其是道德想象的重要性也被广泛讨论，因为文学可以为我们提供生动的例子来想象不同的道德困境、不同道德选择的后果以及不同人面对不同处境时的感受。玛莎·努斯鲍姆特别指出，文学形式是想象某些复杂道德情境的唯一适当形式。通过分析具体的文学实例以及相关的伦理讨论和实证结果，本文认为，在努斯鲍姆的论证基础上，原型理论可以作为文学形式对于道德想象的重要性的认知基础，因为文学形式对道德想象的宽容性。模糊性适合我们对世界进行模糊分类的方式。