Caring About Dostoyevsky: The Untapped Potential of Studying Literature

Roel M Willems; Arthur M Jacobs

doi:10.1016/j.tics.2015.12.009

Caring About Dostoyevsky: The Untapped Potential of Studying Literature

Trends Cogn Sci. 2016 Apr;20(4):243-245. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2015.12.009. Epub 2016 Jan 23.

Authors

Roel M Willems¹, Arthur M Jacobs²

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: r.willems@let.ru.nl.
² Department of Education and Psychology, Free University Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Center for Cognitive Neuroscience Berlin (CCNB), Free University Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Dahlem Institute for Neuroimaging of Emotions (DINE), Free University Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

PMID: 26809726
DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2015.12.009

Abstract

Should cognitive scientists and neuroscientists care about Dostoyevsky? Engaging with fiction is a natural and rich behavior, providing a unique window onto the mind and brain, particularly for mental simulation, emotion, empathy, and immersion. With advances in analysis techniques, it is time that cognitive scientists and neuroscientists embrace literature and fiction.

Keywords: cognition; emotion; immersion; literature; mental simulation.

Publication types

Historical Article

MeSH terms

Brain / physiology*
Cognition / physiology*
Emotions / physiology
History, 19th Century
Humans
Literature* / history