The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us HumanHoughton Mifflin Harcourt, 10 apr. 2012 - 271 pagini “Insightful...draws from disparate corners of history and science to celebrate our compulsion to storify everything around us.”—The New York Times Book Review Humans live in landscapes of make-believe. We spin fantasies. We devour novels, films, and plays. Even sporting events and criminal trials unfold as narratives. Yet the world of story has remained an undiscovered and unmapped country. It’s easy to say that humans are “wired” for story, but why? In this delightful, original book, Jonathan Gottschall offers the first unified theory of storytelling. He argues that stories help us navigate life’s complex social problems—just as flight simulators prepare pilots for difficult situations. Storytelling has evolved, like other behaviors, to ensure our survival. Drawing on the latest research in neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary biology, Gottschall tells us what it means to be a storytelling animal. Did you know that the more absorbed you are in a story, the more it changes your behavior? That all children act out the same kinds of stories, whether they grow up in a slum or a suburb? That people who read more fiction are more empathetic? Of course, our story instinct has a darker side. It makes us vulnerable to conspiracy theories, advertisements, and narratives about ourselves that are more “truthy” than true. National myths can also be terribly dangerous: Hitler’s ambitions were partly fueled by a story. But as Gottschall shows, stories can also powerfully change the world for the better. We know we are master shapers of story. The Storytelling Animal finally reveals how stories shape us. “Lively.”—San Francisco Chronicle “Absorbing.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune “One of my favorite evolutionary psych writers—always insightful and witty.”—Steven Pinker |
Alte ediții - Afișează-le pe toate
The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human Jonathan Gottschall Nu există previzualizare disponibilă - 2012 |
The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human Jonathan Gottschall Nu există previzualizare disponibilă - 2013 |
Termeni și expresii frecvente
Accessed August 30 Adolfus air loom American Annabel asked baby behavior believe Bernheim Boyd Cambridge Castronova cats characters Confabulation conspiracy theories creativity cultural David dreams Evolution evolutionary example experience fantasy feelies fight film Finnegans Wake flashbulb memories flight simulators Gazzaniga girls guys hand happened hero Hitler Holmes holodeck human images imagine James James Tilly Matthews John Jouvet kill left brain literary lives make-believe Matthews Media memoir mental Michael Gazzaniga Million Little Pieces mirror neurons MMORPG moral movie myths narrative Neverland night novel Oatley Obama Paley percent Pinker pretend play problem protagonists psychologists reality religion remember Rienzi Science scientists screen shows sleep social split-brain Spotts story story’s storytelling mind SuperNanny television tell things Ultimate Fighter University Press Valli and Revonsuo video games virtual world Vivian Paley watching writes York young