Fictionalism is a view in philosophy that posits that statements appearing to be descriptions of the world should not be construed as such, but should instead be understood as cases of "make believe", thus allowing individuals to treat something as literally true (a "useful fiction").
According to Field, there is no reason to treat parts of mathematics that involve reference to or quantification as true.
[4] In this discourse, mathematical objects are accorded the same metaphysical status as literary figures such as Macbeth.
[4] Also in meta-ethics, there is an equivalent position called moral fictionalism (championed by Richard Joyce).
Many modern versions of fictionalism are influenced by the work of Kendall Walton in aesthetics.