eprintid: 27549
rev_number: 14
eprint_status: archive
userid: 1249
dir: disk0/00/02/75/49
datestamp: 2020-01-16 10:34:11
lastmod: 2020-02-19 07:25:16
status_changed: 2020-01-16 10:34:11
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Nünning, Vera
title: The Ethics of (Fictional) Form: Persuasiveness and Perspective Taking from the Point of View of Cognitive Literary Studies
subjects: 800
divisions: 90200
keywords: cognitive narratology, narrative conventions, persuasion, ethics, perspective taking
note: Dieser Beitrag ist aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.

This publication is freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.
abstract: 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.
date: 2015
publisher: De Gruyter
id_scheme: DOI
id_number: 10.11588/heidok.00027549
official_url: https://doi.org/10.1515/arcadia-2015-0004
ppn_swb: 1688482539
own_urn: urn:nbn:de:bsz:16-heidok-275496
language: eng
bibsort: NUNNINGVERTHEETHICSO2015
full_text_status: public
publication: Arcadia
volume: 50
number: 1
place_of_pub: Berlin
pagerange: 37-56
issn: 1613-0642 (Online-Ausg.), 0003-7982 (Druck-Ausg.)
citation:   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.)     
document_url: https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/27549/1/arcadia-2015-0004.pdf