Evolutionary pre-adaptation and the idea of character in fiction

Abstract

Abstract. Fiction can be a means of striving towards truths, but in a way that is more abstract than the truths of everyday happenings. We offer a staircase of evolutionary pre-adaptations on which works of literature such as novels and plays depend. These include systems of mirror-neurons, mimetic ritual, conversational language based on actions, narrative structure, metaphor, and imaginary play. These enable the mental simulations that people create when they listen to, or read, stories. We argue that the abstraction of literary character is a sophisticated version of the making of mental models of others that we form routinely in conversation.

The Function of Fiction is the Abstraction and Simulation of Social Experience

“…All of these phenomena appear to rely on the experiential simulation of perceived actions and events, in one form or another. In this way, mirror neurons appear to offer an intermediate step and preadaptation (see Oatley & Mar, 2005) for how symbolic forms of narrative presentation could result in the mental simulation of experience (i.e., the feeling that the experience was happening to oneself). Such an account, however, does not yet adequately address the simulation of abstract symbolic stimuli.…”

“…We are attracted to literature because we are social creatures who are interested in one another. It is important to note that social information is not only fascinating-it also possesses survival value (Carroll, 1999;Miall, 2006;Oatley & Mar, 2005). To survive the harsh environments of our history, early humans needed to form and maintain groups so that protection from external threats, hunting, gathering, and other necessary pursuits were more likely to be successful.…”

Storytelling as Adaptive Collective Sensemaking

“…The functions of these different discursive products may vary; thus, claiming a singly overarching function risks being excessively reductive. Moreover, because language use in its modern form has evolved over long time scales, and co‐evolved with cognitive abilities (Oatley & Mar, ), functionalities may have shifted over time. Ancestral functions may have been co‐opted to serve in new contexts (Buss, Haselton, Shackelford, Bleske, & Wakefield, ).…”

Storytelling as adaptive collective sensemaking

“…The functions of these different discursive products may vary; thus, claiming a singly overarching function risks being excessively reductive. Moreover, because language use in its modern form has evolved over long time scales, and co-evolved with cognitive abilities (Oatley & Mar, 2005), functionalities may have shifted over time. Ancestral functions may have been co-opted to serve in new contexts (Buss, Haselton, Shackelford, Bleske, & Wakefield, 1998).…”