What is fiction about, and what is it good for? An influential family of theories sees fiction as rooted in adaptive simulation mechanisms. In this view, our propensity to create and enjoy narrative fictions was selected and maintained due to the training that we get from mentally simulating situations relevant to our survival and reproduction. We put forward and test a precise version of this claim, the “ordeal simulation hypothesis”. It states that fictional narrative primarily simulates “ordeals”: situations where a person’s reaction might dramatically improve or decrease her fitness, such as deadly aggressions, or decisions on long-term matrimonial commitments. We study mortality in fictional and non-fictional texts as a partial test for this view. Based on an analysis of 744 extensive summaries of twentieth century American novels of various genres, we show that the odds of dying (in a given year) are vastly exaggerated in fiction compared to reality, but specifically more exaggerated for homicides as compared to suicides, accidents, war-related, or natural deaths. This evidence supports the ordeal simulation hypothesis but is also compatible with other accounts.
Max Planck institut, Germany - ORCID: 0000-0002-6216-1307
Brunel University, United Kingdom - ORCID: 0000-0001-5827-8003
Max Planck institut, Germany - ORCID: 0000-0002-0793-4944
Chapter Title
Perché si muore nei romanzi: l’ipotesi della simulazione dell’ordalia
Authors
Olivier Morin, Alberto Acerbi, Oleg Sobchuk
Language
Italian
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0045-5.06
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2022
Copyright Information
© 2022 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
La narrazione come incontro
Editors
Fabio Ciotti, Carmela Morabito
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
174
Publication Year
2022
Copyright Information
© 2022 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0045-5
ISBN Print
979-12-215-0044-8
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0045-5
eISBN (epub)
979-12-215-0046-2
Series Title
Moderna/Comparata
Series ISSN
2704-5641
Series E-ISSN
2704-565X