Historias raras (Desencarrilamientos mentales) (Strange Stories (Mental Derailings))
9 Pages Posted: 11 Jun 2015
Date Written: May 31, 2009
Abstract
Spanish Abstract: Examinamos la contribución de Stephen Jay Gould (en especial en 'I Have Landed') a la narratología cognitiva en su relación con el evolucionismo. La propensión de Gould a las historias complicadas y curiosas, y su resistencia a la simplificación, son instructivas tanto sobre la función cognitiva y adaptativa de la narratividad, cuanto sobre la importancia de una labor reflexiva que permita que nuestras explicaciones narrativas den cuenta de la complejidad efectiva del mundo. Enfatizamos por tanto la importancia cognitiva de las representaciones complejas, y de los relatos críticos que, revisando las narraciones conocidas y aceptadas, se oponen a los estereotipos simplificadores y sacan a nuestra percepción de sus carriles habituales, ofreciendo perspectivas complejas y no convencionales de los acontecimientos.
English Abstract: This paper examines Stephen Jay Gould's contribution to cognitive narratology as it relates to evolutionary theory, in particular in 'I Have Landed'. Gould's penchant for complicated and quirky stories, and his resistance to simplification, are instructive as regards the cognitive and adaptive function of narrativity, and also as regards the importance of a reflective attitude which may enable our narrative explanations to account for the actual complexity of the world. This perspective emphasizes therefore the cognitive importance of complex representations and of critical accounts which, revising currently known and accepted narratives, oppose stereotypical simplification and run our perceptions off their usual tracks, providing complex and non-conventional perspectives on events.
Note: Downloadable document is in Spanish.
Keywords: Cognition, Narratology, Cognitive narratology, Evolution, Criticism, Stereotypes, Narrativity, Demythologization
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