The Rise of Reading and Novels

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The rise of reading and novels does something. Maybe it doesn't do theory of mind like some people think. I've spent my entire career as an english professor being that i'm an idiot, because i care about emotion,. Because i care about empathy, because we don't have to hit them over the head or shoot them. And this is exactly where stephen and i are a hundreder cent in agreement. Philosophy in modern universities is all but dead. It's turned into meta ethics and various meta forms of philosophy and critique. You know, you might argue with people like no kant, or maybe the romantic period, to know, this idea, this ambition, has been completely extinguished

Michael speaks with neuroscientist and literature professor Dr. Angus Fletcher about 25 of the most powerful developments in the history of literature, from ancient Mesopotamia to Elena Ferrante. Fletcher says these literary technologies can alleviate grief, trauma, loneliness, anxiety, numbness, depression, pessimism, and ennui — all while sparking creativity, courage, love, empathy, hope, joy, and positive change. Fletcher is a professor of story science at Ohio State’s Project Narrative, the world’s leading academic think-tank for the study of stories. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.