...many scholars recognize the significant social contribution of literature precisely because of its insight into the human psyche. By analyzing the "literary structuring of common basic human ...experiences," the author demonstrates the power that literature can exert on the individual and his ability to exist and experience. ...the author's observation that picture books play a crucial role in introducing children to a wide range of emotions is significant, especially because sadness is expressed in them bimodally, i.e. through both verbal and visual communication. In this respect, the analysis is closely related to the findings of cognitive literary studies, which emphasize the visual nature of human perception and the crucial role that the visual images presented in picture books play in their understanding.
In the 1980s and 1990s, an ethical turn began to take place in literary studies and in the humanities in general, leading to an increased interest in exploring the relationship between literature and ...ethics. The field that deals with this topic is now called ethical literary studies or ethical criticism. One of the less explored areas of ethical literary studies is the relationship between ethics and cognitive aspects of reading. In this article, I therefore analyse the neurobiological foundations of literary reading. I consider reading as a technology consisting of various embodied mental, emotional, motor, sensory, memory and other cognitive processes. The temporal and spatial dimension of the processes, which I also call “openness”, is particularly important. The latter conditions the diversity of reading on an experiential level and, finally, the possibilities of the relationship between literature and ethics, namely in relation to literary characters, narratives, implicit and real authors and readers.
Darwinian approaches to literature regard literature as a "biological adaptation." This article explores Brian Boyd's "evocriticism," his evocritical method interpreting literary texts, and Boyd's ...claims for a new, evolutionary literary theory. Evocriticism focuses on literature as a cognitive play with patterns and makes possible a direct connection between literature and play, from which Boyd then derives his "evolutionistic" functions of literature. A critical analysis of Boyd's evocriticism shows that it cannot be understood as a break with the non-reductionist notion of methodological pluralism, even though it contradicts certain theoretical assumptions; for example, the notion of the end of "grand narratives" or the "death of the author." Especially the analysis of the evocritical interpretative method shows that the theory of evolution can offer meaningful insights into the understanding of literature, its production, and its reception, but it cannot explain all aspects of literary texts. Therefore it also relies on the use of various theoretical methods, or methodological pluralism.
Študija išče in analizira lastnosti glavnih literarnih oseb z uporabo kvantitativne metode, povzete po referenčni raziskavi Jonathana Gottschalla, objavljeni v knjigi Literature, Science, and the New ...Humanities. Metodo prilagajamo glede na zahteve korpusa, ki je izbran na od raziskovalcev neodvisen način. Namen raziskave je ugotoviti, kakšne so literarne osebe v izbranem korpusu glede na njihov spol in s spolom povezane lastnosti. Sekundarni namen raziskave je primerjava z rezultati Gottschallove raziskave in preverjanje njegovih sklepov o ustreznosti evolucijsko-teoretskih in feminističnih tez o vzrokih za morebitne različne reprezentacije spolov v obravnavanih literarnih delih in literaturi nasploh. Nazadnje ugotovitve postavimo v kontekst dosedanjih raziskav spola v slovenskem pripovedništvu.
In the 1980s and 1990s, an ethical turn began to take place in literary studies and in the humanities in general, leading to an increased interest in exploring the relationship between literature and ...ethics. The field that deals with this topic is now called ethical literary studies or ethical criticism. One of the less explored areas of ethical literary studies is the relationship between ethics and cognitive aspects of reading. In this article, I therefore analyse the neurobiological foundations of literary reading. I consider reading as a technology consisting of various embodied mental, emotional, motor, sensory, memory and other cognitive processes. The temporal and spatial dimension of the processes, which I also call "openness", is particularly important. The latter conditions the diversity of reading on an experiential level and, finally, the possibilities of the relationship between literature and ethics, namely in relation to literary characters, narratives, implicit and real authors and readers. Keywords: cognitive literary studies, literary reading, diversity, ethical judgement, aesthetic judgement V osemdesetih in devetdesetih letih prejsnjega stoletja se je v humanistiki in literarni vedi zgodil eticni obrat, ki pomeni povecanje zanimanja za raziskovanje razmerja med literaturo in etiko. Danes ta del literarne vede imenujemo eticno kritistvo ali eticna literarna veda. Eno od slabse raziskanih podrocij eticnega kritistva je razmerje med etiko in kognitivnimi vidiki branja. Zato v tem clanku analiziram nevrobioloske podlage branja. Branje razumem kot tehnologijo,utemeljeno na stevilnih utelesenih miselnih, custvenih, motoricnih, senzoricnih, spominskih in drugih kognitivnih procesih. Casovno-prostorska dimenzija teh procesov, ki jo imenujem odprtost,je posebej pomembna. Na izkustveni ravni namrec pogojuje raznolika branja, nazadnje pa tudi pogoje moznosti vzpostavljanja razmerja med literaturo in etiko, in sicer skozi razmerja do literarnih oseb, pripovedi in implicitnih ter realnih avtorjev in bralcev. Kljucne besede: kognitivna literarna veda, literarno branje, raznolikost, eticne sodbe, estetske sodbe
Po Vrecku, ki povzema tudi starej se interpretacij e Sfericnega zrcala, ima ta zapis stevilne funkcije. Najprej je K inicialka, prva crka Kosovelovega priimka, njegovega »nesojenega« krstnega imena ...(Kvintilijan) in tudi prva crka besed konstruktivizem ter konstruktor. Dalje Vrecko ugotavlja, da zrcalna podoba te erke lebdi v zraku prav zato, ker je zrcaljena - gre torej za premagovanje teznosti in rast v prostor. Tretjic je »slika erke K v resnici ucinek konstrukcijskih crt, s katerimi pesnik dosega globino prostora«. Izrazito pomemben vidni element zapisa te erke je, da navpicnica in posevnici, ki jo zarisujejo, niso prekinjene, temvec se v skladu z neevklidsko geometrijo dotikajo v neskoncnosti. Vrecko pravi, da je pesem hkrati del »kontinuuma zunaj pesmi«, kar lahko razumemo tudi kot kontinuiteto med »mikrokozmosom in makrokozmosom«. (Vrecko 2011: 382) Cetrtic, zrcaljeno zapisana crka K prikazuje plankonkavno zrcalo, »ki pomanjsuje in razprsuje in tako ustvarja obcutek gibanja«, pri cerner je pomembno, da je v to zrcalno gibanje postavljena celotna pesem. Petic, znotraj treh parov neskoncnih zrcaljenih vzporednic, ki sestavljajo podobo erke K, najdemo zapis: »Zakaj si izpustil zlati coin v mocvirje?« ali tudi, kot poudarja Vrecko: »K. Zakaj si izpustil zlati coin v mocvirje?« (prav tarn: 384) To po Vrecku kaze dvojno samonanasanje: najprej zaradi erke K, potem pa zaradi naslova Kosovelove zbirke Zlati coin, katere pesmi sam imenuje barzunasta lirika, pri cerner bi celotno besedilo lahko pomenilo tudi: »Konstruktivizem, zakaj si izpustil zlati coin v mocvirje?« (prav tarn: 385) Sestic, crka Kje v svoji zrcalni podobi naslikana na desni strani besedila, kar ima pomemebne posledice za gibanje percepcije pri branju pesmi. Sedmic, branje te erke zahteva prekinitev »linearnega branja« in bralca prisili, da »obrne glavo in vid«. Ker Vrecko ob svoji analizi sfericnega zrcala omenja tudi morebitno preoblikovanje pomena besede engagement, je taksno dejavnost bralca mogoce razumeti prav v smislu tega preoblikovanja. Osmic, zapis erke K, ki ni zaokrozen in se nadaljuje, kot pravi Vrecko, v neskoncnost, je mogoce razumeti tudi kot sied konstruktivisticne arhitekture te pesmi, saj se crte, ki crko sestavljajo, ne izgubijo v videzu celóte, temvec ostajajo bralcu dostopne v samem procesu zapisa, pesniskem postopku. Koncno je v tem tehnicnem in inzenirskem zapisu mogoce prepoznati tudi Kosovelovo misel o besedah kot zidakih, »s katerimi zida, konstruira«. V skladu z navedenim Vrecko povzema interpretacijo pesmi na tak nacin: Jaana Simóla povzema ugotovitve stevilnih nevroznanstvenih studij delovanja percepcije med branjem, da konvencionalna odlocitev, da beremo od leve proti desni,10 vpliva na to, koliko besed vidimo levo in desno od tocke, v katero je med procesom branja osredotocena nasa pozornost. Vec parafovealnih11 besed vidimo v smeri branja, manj pa v nasprotni smeri. To kaze na fiziolosko lastnost delovanja nasega ocesa in vidnega korteksa, ki je odvisna od kulturne prilagojenosti (od ucenja), aje hkrati univerzalna in se pojavlja v zvezi z vsemi vrstami zapisovanja besed. Simóla proucuje vpliv oglasov (besed in nesmiselnih zaporedij crk), ki se pojavljajo na vrhu ali ob robu spletnih strani, a njene ugotovitve, ki jih pridobi z biometricno tehnologijo eye trackinga in nevrometricno tehnologijo EEG, je mogoce posplositi na vse vrste branja in besedil.12 Najpomembnejsa ugotovitev njene studije, ki je pomembna tudi za opredelitev nevropsiholoskih funkcij konstruktivisticnih elementov Sfericnega zrcala, je, da motnje (oglasi, besede in nesmiselna zaporedja crk) na desni strani zapisa (v smeri branja) procès branja motijo bolj od oglasov, ki se na spletnih straneh pojavljajo na vrhu zaslona.13 Ceprav ugotavlja, da relativna hitrost branja ni odvisna od smeri zapisa ali branja (bralci evropskih jezikov horizontalni zapis berejo prav enako hitro kot bralci japonskih zapisov vertikalni zapis14), preklapljanje med smermi znotraj ene vrste pisave (ce je recimo tekst v anglescini zapisan navpicno) upocasni branje oz. so prekinitve med napredovanji pozornosti v smeri branja daljse.15 Prav tako dokazuje, da so te prekinitve (ki jih je mogoce povezati s casom procesiranja pomena besede ali besedne zveze) daljse, ce bralci beremo neznane besede in kompleksnejsa besedila.16
This articles discusses Dragica Potocnjak's plat' Za nase mlade dame (For Our Young Ladies) and Euripides' Medea, with special emphasis on the analysis of Medea's and Katarina's characters and a ...comparison between them. The two plays are primarily compared in terms of motif and theme. The most important similarity between Medea and Katarina lies in the fact that as women and wives they find themselves in extremely hostile and unpleasant situations. They are both betrayed and disappointed wives and lovers that were used and abused by their husbands; they are lonely and in a way they are both strangers in the society they live in. Jason used Medea to facilitate his social ascent, or as a means for claiming the throne that was rightfully his. On the other hand, Boris physically and psychologically abuses, suppresses, and marginales Katarina. It is noteworthy that Potocnjak adds the motif of child sexual abuse here, which is so strong that it becomes the play's main focal point. The power of Potocnjak's depiction of sexual abuse originates from her play with the unity of time, which she dissolves and mixes in order to suitably illustrate the dissolved and injured psychological structure of the abused child Brina. Medea and Katarina are placed in similar situations, but their reactions are significantly different. Based on the differences in their reactions, one can also decipher (and compare) their characters. Medea takes her revenge in what is perhaps the most atrocious way: by killing her sons and Jason's new wife (and inadvertently also Creon). She is active and takes her destiny in her own hands. In contrast, Katarina is passive and reacts with escapism. She is beaten up and left unheard whenever she wants to speak up or tell that Boris is abusing their daughter. However, both Medea's action and Katarina's inactivity lead to the death of their children. It thus turns out that in a system in which social relations are broken down, unfair, and oppressive (where ethics have no effect) children are always the only real victims. Nothing can stop Medea's self-will because she can endure the suffering she has inflicted upon herself, whereas Katarina is not even a subject in the constellation of the play For Our Young Ladies. Here the place of an agent is taken by institutions personified by Boris (politics and family), the police officer (repression), and the priest (the Church). The comparison of Medea and her contemporary Slovenian antipode ultimately calls for an ethical reflection on their balance between the solipsistic self-will of an individual and the subjective self-will of a system. As the comparison of two plays created two thousand years apart shows, one needs to constantly recreate this balance oneself because it can never be permanently fixed.
This article discusses the development of the lyric subject in the first five poetry collections by Gregor Strnisa, in which the interpretation is based on Strnisa's own poetry, the sources that he ...knew and used (especially Weizsäcker's explanation of quantum mechanics from a comparative perspective with Kant's transcendentalism), and of course his poetological text Relativnostnapesnitev (The Relativity Poem).
Kasandra slovenskega pesnika in dramatika Borisa A. Novaka je nastala po avtorjevi izkušnji balkanskih vojn, zato ni presenetljivo, da ima družbenokritično perspektivo. V drami je izpostavljen pojav ...vojne travme in njene razrešitve v postsocialističnem kontekstu, to je v kontekstu razpada Jugoslavije. A drama na ozadju historičnih referenc obravnava individualno raven doživljanja vojnih dogodkov, vključno s posilstvi in uboji. Klasična starogrška zgodba je premeščena v sodobni čas, s čimer Novak izpostavi nadčasovnost travm, ki jih povzročajo vse vojne od Troje dalje. A Novakova drama se konča na nov način, in sicer s Kasandrinim odpuščanjem Agamemnonu. Razrešitev se izkaže za zanimivo, po eni strani zaradi svoje nepričakovanosti in izjemnosti, po drugi strani pa zaradi osredotočanja na subjektivni vidik pomiritve. V članku na teoretski podlagi kognitivne literarne vede, zlasti s pomočjo razlikovanja med kognitivno in emotivno empatijo, analiziram okoliščine, kognitivne mehanizme in socialno funkcijo Kasandrine odločitve, da odpusti Agamemnonu. Ta ima z evolucijsko-socialnega vidika sprva razdiralno oz. tekmovalno funkcijo, z osebnega vidika pa omogoča individualno samo-izpolnitev skozi ljubezen. Kot temeljno vprašanje Novakove drame se nazadnje izkaže sledeča dilema: ali je mogoče na ravni kognitivistične analize upravičiti bodisi individualno bodisi kolektivno premagovanje travme na Kasandrin način.
Članek analizira učinke sodobne dramatike, ki temeljijo na analizi posebnega delovanja človeškega telesa na nevrobiološki ravni. Najprej pojem utelešene vednosti razlikujemo od pojma refleksivne ...vednosti, nakar analizo nevrobioloških mehanizmov, ki utemeljujejo utelešeno vednost, povežemo z Damasievim razumevanjem čustev in občutkov ter njihove evolucijske zveze s pravili vedenja bitij v skupnostih. Končno ugotavljamo, kakšni so možni učinki utelešene vednosti v sodobni dramatiki na prejemnika dramskega sporočila. Teoretsko analizo utemeljimo tudi skozi študijo primera, in sicer drame 24ur Simone Semenič.