Narrative, Emotion, and Insight

Noël Carroll is Distinguished Professor in the Philosophy Program at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. John Gibson is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Louisville.

“This is an excellent collection of essays assembled to address an important and challenging question: How can we be emotionally moved by, or learn from, fictional narratives—stories composed of persons, things, and events that we know don't exist? The writers address this question from a variety of perspectives and consider a wide range of examples from literature, drama, and film. The result is a lively, informed, thought-provoking discussion of the contentious borderland between art and actuality. The editors have made excellent choices, and the contributors have written clear-headed, incisive essays. This is a first-rate collection that everyone interested in literary aesthetics, the psychology of narrative, or the theory of fiction will need to have. But, more than that, it's a book that anyone curious about the bearing of fictional narratives on the way we think and feel about things in real life will want to read.”—Ronald Moore, University of Washington

• ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionJohn Gibson1 Life, Fiction, and NarrativePeter Goldie2 Telling Stories: Narration, Emotion, and Insight in MementoBerys Gaut3 Philosophical Insight, Emotion, and Popular Fiction: The Case of Sunset BoulevardNoël Carroll4 Thick NarrativesJohn Gibson5 Narrative, Emotions, and AutonomyAmy Mullin6 Narrative Rehearsal, Expression, and Goethe’s “Wandrers Nachtlied II”Richard Eldridge7 Rubber Ring: Why Do We Listen to Sad Songs?Aaron Smuts8 Discovery Plots in TragedySusan L. Feagin9 Imagination, Fiction, and DocumentaryDerek MatraversList of ContributorsIndex