Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

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MENTAL MODEL · M5091

Legal Fiction

Legal Fiction
TechnicalHigh supportPhysics
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

Knowing that a fact is false, but legally pretending it is true to achieve a certain legal purpose. For example, a company is "fictionally" treated as a legal person with independent legal personality; in divorce proceedings, a court may "fictionally" presume one party dead to allow remarriage.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Necessary non-truth. Legal fiction reminds us that some social constructs (such as money, the state, and corporations) do not physically exist, but through collective "pretense" of their existence, we gain enormous collaborative efficiency. The key is to know that this is a tool, not truth.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Fiction operates through the "deeming" technique, treating fact A as fact B to apply existing rules and achieve policy goals. It does not seek objective truth but convenience and consistency in legal effects.

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Source support: Explicit

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    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_fictionZH · Explicit
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