#593 Brian Boyd - On the Origin of Stories: Evolution, Cognition, and Fiction

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Dr. Brian Boyd is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of English at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. He is known primarily as an expert on the life and works of author Vladimir Nabokov and on literature and evolution. He is the author of On the Origin of Stories: Evolution, Cognition, and Fiction.

In this episode, we focus on On the Origin of Stories. We first talk about the evolutionary origins of art and storytelling, including questions like the functions of art; if it is an adaptation; sexual selection; and the savannah hypothesis. We then get into storytelling, and how we study it in hunter-gatherer societies; universals in storytelling; and comparing oral storytelling to literature. We discuss how people develop their artistic preferences, and what makes art successful. We compare art to other human activities, like religion, and ask if it is special. We discuss the role storytelling plays in child development. We address the concern that the quality of art might be on the decline. Finally, we talk about what an evolutionary lens brings to literary studies.

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