title: The Ethics of (Fictional) Form: Persuasiveness and Perspective Taking from the Point of View of Cognitive Literary Studies
creator: Nünning, Vera
subject: 800
subject: 800 Literature and rhetoric
description: The persuasive power of narratives, which has been demonstrated in a host of psychological experiments, offers a rewarding field of research for literary studies in general and ethical criticism in particular. If fictional as well as factual narratives can change the beliefs of readers, then they are ethically meaningful to disseminate values, emotional dispositions, and cognitive practices. Building on recent research in psychology and literary studies, this article explores in three steps the ethical value of fictional narratives. First, the persuasive power of narratives is discussed from a cognitive perspective, which includes consideration of the ethical consequences of taking the perspectives of others. Second, these insights are connected to a delineation of narrative conventions, which can foster the kind of deeper understanding associated with altruistic behavior. In the third part, pertinent narrative strategies are discussed from an ethical perspective. A brief conclusion summarizes the most  important results and sketches some fields that merit exploration in future studies of ethical criticism.
publisher: De Gruyter
date: 2015
type: Article
type: info:eu-repo/semantics/article
type: NonPeerReviewed
format: application/pdf
identifier: https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserverhttps://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/27549/1/arcadia-2015-0004.pdf
identifier: DOI:10.11588/heidok.00027549
identifier: https://doi.org/10.1515/arcadia-2015-0004
identifier: urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-heidok-275496
identifier:   Nünning, Vera  (2015) The Ethics of (Fictional) Form: Persuasiveness and Perspective Taking from the Point of View of Cognitive Literary Studies.  Arcadia, 50 (1).  pp. 37-56.  ISSN 1613-0642 (Online-Ausg.), 0003-7982 (Druck-Ausg.)     
relation: https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/27549/
rights: info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights: http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/help/license_urhg.html
language: eng