Cognitive Revolution Pb: The Birth of Expectation - Softcover

Don LePan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1551110814 ISBN 13: 9781551110813

Publisher: Broadview Press, 1995

Synopsis

“Maintains that the Renaissance did not just introduce new ideas into Western culture but radically changed cognitive processes.” — Studies in English Literature|Why are the plots of Shakespeare and his contemporaries so different from those of his predecessors? This book argues that the answer is in part that certain forms of expectation were largely undeveloped in the medieval period. More broadly, it suggests that many of the causal and temporal thought processes that are second nature to us operated very differently or had not been developed in the minds of most medieval people. And conversely, it suggests that other mental faculties (such as the ability to respond to some of the elemental appeal of poetry) may have become dulled by the post-renaissance rationalist emphasis in our culture. In addition to drawing on a broad range of etymological and literary evidence (from the 10th century Gnomic verses to 16th-century drama) the book delves into medieval history, and draws many anthropological parallels. This is a significant study in the nature of narrative and an important investigation into the mental and cultural worlds of Shakespeare and his predecessors.

About this title

About the Author

Don LePan is the author of The Broadview Book of Common Errors in English (5/e 2003) and (with Doug Babington) The Broadview Guide to Writing (2/e 2001).

From the Back Cover

Why are the plots of Shakespeare and his contemporaries so different from those of his predecessors? This book argues that the answer is in part that certain forms of expectation were largely undeveloped in the medieval period. More broadly, it suggests that many of the causal and temporal thought processes that are second nature to us operated very differently or had not been developed in the minds of most medieval people. And conversely, it suggests that other mental faculties (such as the ability to respond to some of the elemental appeal of poetry) may have become dulled by the post-renaissance rationalist emphasis in our culture.

In addition to drawing on a broad range of etymological and literary evidence (from the 10th century Gnomic verses to 16th-century drama) the book delves into medieval history, and draws many anthropological parallels. This is a significant study in the nature of narrative and an important investigation into the mental and cultural worlds of Shakespeare and his predecessors.

Edition details

• Publisher: Broadview Press
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1551110814
• ISBN 13: 9781551110813
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 382