Strange Concepts and the Stories They Make Possible

My book review of Lisa Zunshine's Strange Concepts and the Stories They Make Possible is now out at Consciousness, Literature and the Arts.

Neuroliterary Analysis

Some neuroliterary analysis? Yes, please. It turns out surprise is an important element in literature. As I explained in my dissertation. And that creating empathy keeps interest. Of course, creating empathy also creates more moral people. And now we know why.

Might Poetry Improve the Rhythms of Thought?

If conscious thought itself is rhythmic, then might not rhythmic poetry help to make us more conscious? Might it not improve thought?

Music, Poetry, and Better Listening

Perhaps not surprisingly, listening abilities depend on rhythms in the brain. If your students aren't good listeners, perhaps it's because there's not enough rhythmic poetry in their lives. And they're not reading it aloud enough.

Does this not also raise some questions along the lines Plato raised? Might this not suggest there are in fact kinds of music good for you and kinds bad for you? That there are kinds of music whose rhythms help you listen/pay attention, and those whose rhythms make it harder to listen/pay attention?

Also, there is now good research on why people prefer harmony. (HT: Lynne Kiesling)

Watch live video from TechZulu on Justin.tvA talk by P.J. Manney on evolution, empathy, and science fiction.
Watch live video from TechZulu on Justin.tv

Since poetry is language set to music . . .

The Storytelling Animal

Jonathan Gottschall has a blog at Psychology Today, The Storytelling Animal.

Check out Crappy First Drafts of Great Books.

Why Lyrics Last: Evolution, Cognition, and Shakespeare's Sonnets

Brian Boyd has an exciting new book out: Why Lyrics Last: Evolution, Cognition, and Shakespeare's Sonnets.

Hi folks, here's a notice on a conference integrating evolutionary biology, the evolutionary social sciences, and studies in the humanities: http://consilienceconference.com/

Grad students and post-docs are invited to submit poster proposals (deadline February 15).

Keynote speaker: E. O. Wilson, author of Consilience and of The Social Conquest of Earth (forthcoming).

SIX SPEAKERS FROM BIOLOGY
Herb Gintis
Henry Harpending
John Hawks
Michael Rose
Peter Turchin
David Sloan Wilson

SIX SPEAKERS FROM THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
Christopher Boehm
Pascal Boyer
Robert Frank
David Linden
Dan McAdams
Barb Oakley

SIX SPEAKERS FROM THE HUMANITIES
Brian Boyd
Joseph Carroll
Patricia Churchland
Ellen Dissanayake
Jonathan Gottschall
Massimo Pigliucci