On the Origin of Stories: Evolution, cognition and fiction by Brian Boyd
Brian Boyd's thesis is that current literary criticism - or "Theory" as it is hubristically known - has failed because it regards fiction purely as a cultural construct, ignoring the minds that create and consume it. Viewed in the light of evolution, however, stories acquire a new depth. Better yet, literature provides an untapped source of material to study the mind.
"Evocriticism", as Boyd calls it, is not new - literary Darwinists have been preaching this creed for more than a decade (New Scientist, 3 March 2007, p 38) - but the professor of English from the University of Auckland has some novel and thought-provoking ideas, and his book covers an impressively wide terrain.
Via: newscientist.com
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