Theory of Mind and Literature

by Paula Leverage (Editor), Howard Mancing (Editor), Richard Schweickert (Editor)

Overview

Theory of Mind is what enables us to "put ourselves in another's shoes." It is mindreading, empathy, creative imagination of another's perspective: in short, it is simultaneously a highly sophisticated ability and a very basic necessity for human communication. Theory of Mind is central to such commercial endeavors as market research and product development, but it is also just as important in maintaining human relations over a cup of coffee. Not surprisingly, it is a critical tool in reading and understanding literature, which abounds with characters, situations, and "other people's shoes." Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly apparent that reading literature also hones these critical mindreading skills. Theory of Mind and Literature is a collection of nineteen essays by prominent scholars (linguists, cognitive scientists, and philosophers) working in the cutting-edge field of cognitive literary studies, which explores how we use Theory of Mind in reading and understanding literature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781557535702
Publisher:	Purdue University Press
Publication date:	11/15/2010
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	340
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Paula Leverage is associate professor of French and medieval studies, and director of the Center for Cognitive Literary Studies at Purdue University.

Howard Mancing is professor of Spanish at Purdue University.

Richard Schweickert is professor of psychological sciences at Purdue University

Jennifer Marston William is associate professor and chair of German at Purdue University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

1 Theory of Mind Now and Then: Evolutionary and Historical Perspectives

Theory of Mind and Theory of Minds in Literature Keith Oatley 13

Social Minds in Little Dorrit Alan Palmer 27

The Way We Imagine Mark Turner 41

Theory of Mind and Fictions of Embodied Transparency Lisa Zunshine 63

2 Mind Reading and Literary Characterization

Theory of the Murderous Mind: Understanding the Emotional Intensity of John Doyle's Interpretation of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd Diana Calderazzo 93

Distraction as Liveliness of Mind: A Cognitive Approach to Characterization in Jane Austen Natalie Phillips 105

Sancho Panza's Theory of Mind Howard Mancing 123

Is Perceval Autistic?: Theory of Mind in the Conte del Graal Paula Leverage 133

3 Theory of Mind and Literary/Linguistic Structure

Whose Mind's Eye? Free Indirect Discourse and the Covert Narrator in Marlene Streeruwitz's Nachwelt Jennifer Marston William 153

Attractors, Trajectors, and Agents in Racine's "Récit de Théramène" Allen G. Wood 165

The Importance of Deixis and Attributive Style for the Study of Theory of Mind: The Example of William Faulkner's Disturbed Characters Ineke Bockting 175

4 Alternate States of Mind

Alternative Theory of Mind for Artificial Brains: A Logical Approach to Interpreting Alien Minds Orley K. Marron 187

Reading Phantom Minds: Marie Darrieussecq's Naissance des fantômes and Ghosts' Body Language Mikko Keskinen 201

Theory of Mind and Metamorphoses in Dreams: Jekyll & Hyde, and The Metamorphosis Richard Schweickert Zhuangzhuang Xi 219

Mother/Daughter Mind Reading and Ghostly Intervention in Toni Morrison's Beloved Klarina Priborkin 229

5 Theoretical, Philosophical, Political Approaches

Changing Minds: Theory of Mind and Propaganda in Egon Erwin Kisch's Asien gründlich verändert Seth Knox 247

Functional Brain Imaging and the Problem of Other Minds Dan Lloyd Vince Calhoun Godfrey Pearlson Robert Astur 259

How is it Possible to Have Empathy? Four Models Fritz Breithaupt 273

Theory of Mind and the Conscience in El casamiento engañoso José Barroso Castro 289

Contributors 305

Index 313