The Novel and Neuroscience from Dostoevsky to Ishiguro

“A unique fusion of literature and the sciences of brain and mind from one of the rare dual experts.” — Antonio Damasio, Professor of Psychology, Philosophy, and Neurology, USC “The Novel and Neuroscience from Dostoevsky to Ishiguro, Straus bridges the gap between the humanities and sciences (especially the neurosciences), what C.P. Snow referred to as the ‘Two Cultures. ’Readers from both disciplines will learn much about the concerns of the other in this insightful book.” — Joseph LeDoux, Professor of Neuroscience, NYU “Straus’s timely study demonstrates the many ways in which the impassioned ‘self’ involved in writing and reading major modern novels is deeply embodied. The result is an admirable work of mediation, thoroughly researched, steeped in good science, and full of fresh literary insight.” — Stanley Corngold, Professor Emeritus, Princeton University “’Passing beyond an old epistemological wall,’ as Straus puts it, this book brings to the forefront of literary studies, and the humanities more generally, the glaring need for recognition of the findings of neuroscience: the recognition of the validity of affective and cognitive perspectives on the fictional usage of language; recognition of the socio-political, ethical, and cultural challenges to the interplay between neuroscience and the writing of fiction. An extraordinary achievement!” — Lois Oppenheim, Professor and Chair, Montclair State University The Novel and Neuroscience from Dostoevsky to Ishiguro explores how affective neuroscience illuminates the emotional and ethical impact of eight novels written between 1864 and 2018, indicating how Freud’s provisional ideas in psychology are now being placed on an organic foundation. An emerging new language describes the brain and body’s primary-process powers now influencing the practices of literary theory, verifying the novel’s importance for self and cultural understanding. Nina Pelikan Straus is Professor Emeritus at Purchase College SUNY, USA, and author of Dostoevsky and the Woman Question and articles on Tolstoy, Hardy, Bronte, Flaubert, Conrad, Kafka, Kundera, Derrida, Lacan, Sebald, Murakami, and Tokarczuk.