Building on the premise that both paradoxes and categories are nested, we examined the paradoxes embedded within the construction of the “science fiction” category in China across societal, field, organizational, and individual levels of analysis. Our results found evidence of two categorical relationships between science and fiction prevalent in two different municipalities. In Chengdu, science fiction was more likely to be categorized as a subset of fiction. In contrast, science fiction was more likely to be categorized as a subset of both science and fiction in Beijing. Distinct forms of nested categorization were associated with distinct forms of salient tensions across levels of analysis. Where science fiction was categorized as a subset of fiction, salient paradoxical tensions were more likely to be associated with cross-level relations associated with artistic pursuits. Where science fiction was categorized as a subset of science and fiction, salient paradoxical tensions were more likely to be associated with cross-level relations associated with societal concerns over science and individual concerns over artistic pursuits. The results highlight the importance of simultaneously studying the nestedness of paradoxes and categories.
