Comments on: Science and Literature http://insanityworks.org/mixednuts/2008/05/14/science-and-literature/ A bit of this, some of that, and a whole lot of something else entirely. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:50:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Christopher Waldrop http://insanityworks.org/mixednuts/2008/05/14/science-and-literature/comment-page-1/#comment-88 Christopher Waldrop Thu, 15 May 2008 20:22:52 +0000 http://insanityworks.org/mixednuts/?p=116#comment-88 In his essay Gottschall does suggest means for treating literature as science, such as the study of the reactions of 500 readers to 19th Century novels. But, Aunty, I think you've made a good point that for a lot of literary scholars, the feeling of "this is pointless" must be an easy pit to fall into and a hard one to get out of. I think this could apply not just to literary scholarship but music and art as well. The hard part for these critics is that, instead of spinning theories out of thin air, which is what Post-structuralism seems to not only allow but encourage, they should try coming up with testable ideas that could become hypotheses and maybe even theories. I know that would mean a big shift in arts criticism, and I know no book is going to cure cancer or even build a bridge. Heck, I'm not even sure how scholars in the humanities would begin to make this change. I think it would be more worthwhile than sitting around debating how Baudrillard would interpret The Aeneid, though. In his essay Gottschall does suggest means for treating literature as science, such as the study of the reactions of 500 readers to 19th Century novels. But, Aunty, I think you’ve made a good point that for a lot of literary scholars, the feeling of “this is pointless” must be an easy pit to fall into and a hard one to get out of. I think this could apply not just to literary scholarship but music and art as well. The hard part for these critics is that, instead of spinning theories out of thin air, which is what Post-structuralism seems to not only allow but encourage, they should try coming up with testable ideas that could become hypotheses and maybe even theories.
I know that would mean a big shift in arts criticism, and I know no book is going to cure cancer or even build a bridge. Heck, I’m not even sure how scholars in the humanities would begin to make this change. I think it would be more worthwhile than sitting around debating how Baudrillard would interpret The Aeneid, though.

]]> By: Aunty Helpful Dictator http://insanityworks.org/mixednuts/2008/05/14/science-and-literature/comment-page-1/#comment-87 Aunty Helpful Dictator Thu, 15 May 2008 12:44:22 +0000 http://insanityworks.org/mixednuts/?p=116#comment-87 to clarify: I don't mean to be remotely derogatory about people who study literature. I think it is valuable and that we never know where inspiration for important developments come from... and I can see plenty of merit in studying certain things about literature. I suppose its the motivation for the study of obscure texts that intrigues me. My thinking is that there is a motivation and I just don't know it. I'll stop now to clarify:

I don’t mean to be remotely derogatory about people who study literature. I think it is valuable and that we never know where inspiration for important developments come from… and I can see plenty of merit in studying certain things about literature.

I suppose its the motivation for the study of obscure texts that intrigues me. My thinking is that there is a motivation and I just don’t know it.

I’ll stop now

]]> By: Aunty Helpful Dictator http://insanityworks.org/mixednuts/2008/05/14/science-and-literature/comment-page-1/#comment-86 Aunty Helpful Dictator Thu, 15 May 2008 10:45:35 +0000 http://insanityworks.org/mixednuts/?p=116#comment-86 As someone who was a arts student and now works in a field that purports to being a psuedo-science (political "science") I think you are right. It's all a tapestry with interlinks and we need people working on all bits of it. One thing I wonder, though, about people who do PhD on things like English literature: how do they keep going? What I mean is that the whole task is hard enough, and its really difficult to keep yourself motivated. What keeps me going is that I'm dealing with a problem that affects the lives of millions of people, and that I hope to be able to add to a field that is looking at coming up with solutions to pressing world problems. I understand that a lot of science related phds are looking a cures, or understanding mechanisms, or trying to figure out how the world works. I get the motivation for PhDs on social justice, sociology, geography and philosophy and so on, but if you're working on a thesis on a book or set of books most people have never read and never will read, and you have one of those "this is pointless" slumps.. how do you talk yourself back to believing what your doing is worth the mental torture and poverty you're putting yourself through. I just wonder sometimes. As someone who was a arts student and now works in a field that purports to being a psuedo-science (political “science”) I think you are right. It’s all a tapestry with interlinks and we need people working on all bits of it.

One thing I wonder, though, about people who do PhD on things like English literature: how do they keep going? What I mean is that the whole task is hard enough, and its really difficult to keep yourself motivated. What keeps me going is that I’m dealing with a problem that affects the lives of millions of people, and that I hope to be able to add to a field that is looking at coming up with solutions to pressing world problems. I understand that a lot of science related phds are looking a cures, or understanding mechanisms, or trying to figure out how the world works. I get the motivation for PhDs on social justice, sociology, geography and philosophy and so on, but if you’re working on a thesis on a book or set of books most people have never read and never will read, and you have one of those “this is pointless” slumps.. how do you talk yourself back to believing what your doing is worth the mental torture and poverty you’re putting yourself through.

I just wonder sometimes.

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