Literature constitutes one of the prime instruments of cultural improvisation; i
t is the embodiment of a powerful, inventive, and ever-changing cognitive agency
. As such, it invites a cognitive mode of criticism, one which asserts the prior
ity of the individual literary work as a unique product of human cognition. In t
his book, discussions of topics, arguments, and hypotheses from the cognitive sc
iences, philosophy, and the theory of communication are woven into the fabric of
a critical analysis which insists on the value of close reading: a poem by Yeat
s, a scene from Shakespeare, novels by Mme de Lafayette, Conrad, Frantzen, stori
es from Winnie-the-Pooh and many others appear here on their own terms, with the
ir own cognitive energies.
Written in an accessible style, Thinking with Lite
rature speaks both to mainstream readers of literature and to specialists in cog
nitive studies.
