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Chapter 4 - Minds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 May 2023

Jonas Grethlein
Affiliation:
Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany
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Summary

Perhaps the most prominent cognitivist concept in recent narratology is the Theory of Mind. Alan Palmer, Lisa Zunshine and others have been highly influential with their claim that mind reading is at the core of our engagement with narrative in general. However, these scholars have not only ignored how controversial the idea of the Theory of Mind is in psychology – ancient literature, I believe, also belies their argument about narrative at large. Mind reading is certainly central to our responses to modern realist novels, but ancient narratives, as my test case, Heliodorus’ Ethiopica, illustrates, were more invested in the reconfiguration of time than in individualized minds. Plot was crucial for the experiential quality of narrative hailed by critics, as shown in Chapter 2. This prominence of plot is reflected in Aristotle’s Poetics and other critical works. In order not to play off plot against character, I propose experience as a category that integrates cognitive processes as well as matters of plot.

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Ancient Greek Texts and Modern Narrative Theory
Towards a Critical Dialogue
, pp. 81 - 114
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Minds
  • Jonas Grethlein, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany
  • Book: Ancient Greek Texts and Modern Narrative Theory
  • Online publication: 11 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009339605.004
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  • Minds
  • Jonas Grethlein, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany
  • Book: Ancient Greek Texts and Modern Narrative Theory
  • Online publication: 11 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009339605.004
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Minds
  • Jonas Grethlein, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany
  • Book: Ancient Greek Texts and Modern Narrative Theory
  • Online publication: 11 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009339605.004
Available formats
×