Izvorni znanstveni članak
Fiction and Imagination
Ante Jerić
; Sveučilište u Rijeci
Sažetak
The text begins with the following interconnected assumptions: the human inclination towards fictional storytelling is an inevitable outcome of the development of our cognitive abilities. The development of these mental faculties should be studied as something largely shaped by evolution through natural selection. Therefore, the emergence of fictional storytelling must be explained through the lens of evolutionary theory. From this perspective, the question arises: Did fictional storytelling evolve as an adaptation of the human mind to its environment, offering our ancestors an advantage in survival and reproduction? Or is it, instead, a byproduct of other cognitive abilities that were once adaptive? In the second part of the text, the most influential hypotheses suggesting that fictional storytelling is an adaptation are presented, along with the general form of the adaptationist argument they share. This argument is then critically examined, setting the stage for the third part of the text, where fictional storytelling is no longer treated as a distinct adaptation. Rather, it is viewed as a byproduct of another mental faculty that played an adaptive role in human evolution – imagination. The strength of this position lies in articulating a convincing alternative to the adaptationist perspective that dominates Darwinian literary studies. However, the conclusion of the text suggests that while the idea of fictional storytelling as a byproduct of imagination is plausible, it doesn't provide sufficient grounds for us to fully embrace it. We still cannot say with certainty whether fictional storytelling developed as an adaptation or as a byproduct of other cognitive abilities that were once adaptive. At this stage, all the presented positions regarding this matter merit further exploration.
Ključne riječi
literary Darwinism; fiction; imagination; adaptation; byproduct
Hrčak ID:
330844
URI
Datum izdavanja:
13.5.2025.
Posjeta: 64 *