On the Origin of Stories — Harvard University Press
4.9 (150) In stock
A century and a half after the publication of Origin of Species, evolutionary thinking has expanded beyond the field of biology to include virtually all human-related subjects—anthropology, archeology, psychology, economics, religion, morality, politics, culture, and art. Now a distinguished scholar offers the first comprehensive account of the evolutionary origins of art and storytelling. Brian Boyd explains why we tell stories, how our minds are shaped to understand them, and what difference an evolutionary understanding of human nature makes to stories we love. Art is a specifically human adaptation, Boyd argues. It offers tangible advantages for human survival, and it derives from play, itself an adaptation widespread among more intelligent animals. More particularly, our fondness for storytelling has sharpened social cognition, encouraged cooperation, and fostered creativity.After considering art as adaptation, Boyd examines Homer’s Odyssey and Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who! demonstrating how an evolutionary lens can offer new understanding and appreciation of specific works. What triggers our emotional engagement with these works? What patterns facilitate our responses? The need to hold an audience’s attention, Boyd underscores, is the fundamental problem facing all storytellers. Enduring artists arrive at solutions that appeal to cognitive universals: an insight out of step with contemporary criticism, which obscures both the individual and universal. Published for the bicentenary of Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of Origin of Species, Boyd’s study embraces a Darwinian view of human nature and art, and offers a credo for a new humanism.
The Surprising Origin Story of Wonder Woman
National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week
Stories make us human. Introduction, by Peter Flom
Harvard University Press Spring & Summer 2023 by Harvard University Press - Issuu
Cristina Henríquez at The Harvard Bookstore on Finding Humanity
Why people die in novels: testing the ordeal simulation hypothesis
TESOL Greece: 2015 Convention: Questions and Answers
Prince Bernhard gave press conference at Soestdijk, teaching Dutch
Collecting The World: Hans Sloane and the Origins of the British
Interpretive Play and the Player Psychology of Optimal Arousal Regulation
Veritas: Harvard College and the American Experience - 9781566637312
New Books in Caribbean Studies
PDF) Information Transmission and the Oral Tradition: Evidence of a Late-Life Service Niche for Tsimane Amerindians
Harvard University Press
The Story of Alice: Lewis Carroll and the Secret History of
On the Origin of Time: Stephen Hawking's Final Theory: Hertog
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin - Advent of the Red Comet (TV