On the origin of stories : evolution, cognition, and fiction / Brian Boyd.

Cambridge, Mass. ; London : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2009.

xii, 540 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Introduction: animal, human, art, story -- Book 1: Evolution, art, and fiction -- Part 1: Evolution and nature -- Evolution and human nature? -- Evolution, adaptation, and adapted minds -- The evolution of intelligence -- The evolution of cooperation -- Part 2: Evolution and art -- Art as adaptation? -- Art as cognitive play -- Art and attention -- From tradition to innovation -- Part 3: Evolution and fiction -- Art, narrative, fiction -- Understanding and recalling events -- Narrative: representing events -- Fiction: inventing events -- Fiction as adaptation -- Book II: From Zeus to Seuss: origins of stories -- Part 4: Phylogeny: the Odyssey -- Earning attention (1): natural patterns: character and plot -- Earning attention (s): open-ended patterns: ironies of structure -- The evolution of intelligence (1): in the here and now -- The evolution of intelligence (2): beyond the here and now -- The evolution of cooperation (1): expanding the circle -- The evolution of cooperation (2): punishment -- Part 5: Ontogeny: Horton hears a who! -- Levels of explanation: universal, local, and individual -- Levels of explanation: individuality again -- Levels of explanation: particular -- Meanings -- Conclusion: retrospect and prospects: evolution, literature, criticism.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 457-507) and index.