The Pleasure and pathology of narrative

Susan Green

doi:10.5096/ASCS200918

The Pleasure and pathology of narrative

Susan Green

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference proceeding contribution › peer-review

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Abstract

Literary texts, in particular novels, provide unique ways of representing and exploring the workings of the human mind. Our capacity and willingness to be immersed in an alternative world through the power of narrative suggests our peculiar sensitivity to this form of communication and its capacity to structure our experience. But our hunger for narrative suggests a desire for knowledge as well as a desire for the 'right' story: when this desiring in the imagination motivates behaviour and affects decisions, narrative can become dangerous. This paper investigates the power of narrative in Ian McEwan's novel Atonement (2001). It explores narrative imagination as an asset as well as an affliction; the role of confabulation; and the destructive power of narrative in terms of what these phenomena, when represented in fiction, can tell us about the human mind.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	ASCS09
Subtitle of host publication	proceedings of the 9th Conference of the Australasian Society for Cognitive Science
Editors	Wayne Christensen, Elizabeth Schier, John Sutton
Place of Publication	North Ryde, NSW
Publisher	Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science
Pages	114-118
Number of pages	5
ISBN (Print)	9780646529189
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.5096/ASCS200918
Publication status	Published - 2010
Event	Conference of the Australasian Society for Cognitive Science (9th : 2009) - Sydney Duration: 30 Sept 2009 → 2 Oct 2009

Conference

Conference	Conference of the Australasian Society for Cognitive Science (9th : 2009)
City	Sydney
Period	30/09/09 → 2/10/09

Bibliographical note

Copyright 2009 by the Australasian Society for Cognitive Science. Publisher version archived with the permission of the Editor, ASCS09 : Proceedings of the 9th Conference of the Australasian Society for Cognitive Science. This copy is available for individual, non-commercial use. Permission to reprint/republish this version for other uses must be obtained from the publisher.

Keywords

narrative
confabulation
literary fiction
consciousness

Access to Document

10.5096/ASCS200918

Publisher version (open access)Final published version, 179 KBLicence: Unspecified

Cite this

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title = "The Pleasure and pathology of narrative",

abstract = "Literary texts, in particular novels, provide unique ways of representing and exploring the workings of the human mind. Our capacity and willingness to be immersed in an alternative world through the power of narrative suggests our peculiar sensitivity to this form of communication and its capacity to structure our experience. But our hunger for narrative suggests a desire for knowledge as well as a desire for the 'right' story: when this desiring in the imagination motivates behaviour and affects decisions, narrative can become dangerous. This paper investigates the power of narrative in Ian McEwan's novel Atonement (2001). It explores narrative imagination as an asset as well as an affliction; the role of confabulation; and the destructive power of narrative in terms of what these phenomena, when represented in fiction, can tell us about the human mind.",

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author = "Susan Green",

note = "Copyright 2009 by the Australasian Society for Cognitive Science. Publisher version archived with the permission of the Editor, ASCS09 : Proceedings of the 9th Conference of the Australasian Society for Cognitive Science. This copy is available for individual, non-commercial use. Permission to reprint/republish this version for other uses must be obtained from the publisher.; Conference of the Australasian Society for Cognitive Science (9th : 2009) ; Conference date: 30-09-2009 Through 02-10-2009",

year = "2010",

doi = "10.5096/ASCS200918",

language = "English",

isbn = "9780646529189",

pages = "114--118",

editor = "Wayne Christensen and Elizabeth Schier and John Sutton",

booktitle = "ASCS09",

publisher = "Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science",

}

Green, S 2010, The Pleasure and pathology of narrative. in W Christensen, E Schier & J Sutton (eds), ASCS09: proceedings of the 9th Conference of the Australasian Society for Cognitive Science. Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science, North Ryde, NSW, pp. 114-118, Conference of the Australasian Society for Cognitive Science (9th : 2009), Sydney, 30/09/09. https://doi.org/10.5096/ASCS200918

The Pleasure and pathology of narrative. / Green, Susan.
ASCS09: proceedings of the 9th Conference of the Australasian Society for Cognitive Science. ed. / Wayne Christensen; Elizabeth Schier; John Sutton. North Ryde, NSW: Macquarie Centre for Cognitive Science, 2010. p. 114-118.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference proceeding contribution › peer-review

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N2 - Literary texts, in particular novels, provide unique ways of representing and exploring the workings of the human mind. Our capacity and willingness to be immersed in an alternative world through the power of narrative suggests our peculiar sensitivity to this form of communication and its capacity to structure our experience. But our hunger for narrative suggests a desire for knowledge as well as a desire for the 'right' story: when this desiring in the imagination motivates behaviour and affects decisions, narrative can become dangerous. This paper investigates the power of narrative in Ian McEwan's novel Atonement (2001). It explores narrative imagination as an asset as well as an affliction; the role of confabulation; and the destructive power of narrative in terms of what these phenomena, when represented in fiction, can tell us about the human mind.

AB - Literary texts, in particular novels, provide unique ways of representing and exploring the workings of the human mind. Our capacity and willingness to be immersed in an alternative world through the power of narrative suggests our peculiar sensitivity to this form of communication and its capacity to structure our experience. But our hunger for narrative suggests a desire for knowledge as well as a desire for the 'right' story: when this desiring in the imagination motivates behaviour and affects decisions, narrative can become dangerous. This paper investigates the power of narrative in Ian McEwan's novel Atonement (2001). It explores narrative imagination as an asset as well as an affliction; the role of confabulation; and the destructive power of narrative in terms of what these phenomena, when represented in fiction, can tell us about the human mind.

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ER -

The Pleasure and pathology of narrative

Abstract

Conference

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

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Cite this