| Reading Human Nature: Literary Darwinism in Theory and Practice Contributor(s): Carroll, Joseph (Author) |
|
 |
ISBN: 1438435223 ISBN-13: 9781438435220 Publisher: State University of New York Press OUR PRICE: $35.10 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: March 2011 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | Semiotics & Theory - Literary Criticism | American - General |
| Dewey: 809.933 |
| LCCN: 2010031820 |
| Physical Information: 0.9" H x 6.1" W x 8.9" (1.10 lbs) 368 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: As the founder and leading practitioner of literary Darwinism, Joseph Carroll remains at the forefront of a major movement in literary studies. Signaling key new developments in this approach, Reading Human Nature contains trenchant theoretical essays, innovative empirical research, sweeping surveys of intellectual history, and sophisticated interpretations of specific literary works, including The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wuthering Heights, The Mayor of Casterbridge, and Hamlet. Evolutionists in the social sciences have succeeded in delineating basic motives but have given far too little attention to the imagination. Carroll makes a compelling case that literary Darwinism is not just another school or movement in literary theory. It is the moving force in a fundamental paradigm change in the humanities--a revolution. Psychologists and anthropologists have provided massive evidence that human motives and emotions are rooted in human biology. Since motives and emotions enter into all the products of a human imagination, humanists now urgently need to assimilate a modern scientific understanding of human nature. Integrating evolutionary social science with literary humanism, Carroll offers a more complete and adequate understanding of human nature. |