The Storytelling Animal

In The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human, Jonathan Gottschall integrates the growing body of literature into the science of narrative, situating his work at the intersection of literary theory, psychology, and anthropology. His interdisciplinary approach draws significantly from a lineage of Western thought that combines scientific inquiry with humanistic scholarship in an attempt to bridge the gap between the sciences and the arts—a division that is particularly pronounced in Western academia.

Gottschall’s work is influenced by the field of evolutionary psychology, which is a product of Western scientific and cultural narratives about progress and rationalism. This field posits that many human psychological traits, including behaviors and cognitive patterns, are adaptations shaped by natural selection. His reliance on this framework aligns him with thinkers like Steven Pinker, who explores how evolutionary pressures shape language and thought, suggesting that storytelling behaviors might similarly be molded by evolutionary needs for survival and social cohesion. Gottschall also engages with the ideas of scholars who examine narrative from an evolutionary perspective, like Brian Boyd and Lisa Zunshine. Boyd’s notion of storytelling as a form of cognitive play that enhances mental faculties complements Gottschall’s views, whereas Zunshine’s work on why