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Article published In: Narrative Inquiry
Vol. 25:1 (2015) ► pp.22–36

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Literary narrative as a cognitive structure in the brain

 | Santa Monica College
Published online: 19 February 2016
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ni.25.1.02gar
This paper proposes that literary narrative is the result of an unconscious computation in the brain, a computation that arises from the dynamical interaction of specific innate and representational lower-order neuronal circuits and mappings. It is also proposed that these specific circuits constitute the fundamental building blocks of literary narrative. The analysis further suggests that as literary narrative evolves in the brain, its development is influenced by an evolutionarily-biased broad class of attractors known as archetypes. In this context, a description of literary narrative is devised, and six phases leading to the production of literary narrative are then identified. The description presented here may have applications in the production of literary narrative by artificial systems.
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