Instead, Roth argues that the new neuronovel subscribes to a cheap oversimplification of reality, in which "the proximate causes of mental function [are explained] in terms of neurochemistry, and ultimate causes in terms of evolution and heredity." The end result, Roth suggests, is "that the new genre of the neuronovel, which looks on the face of it to expand the writ of literature, appears as another sign of the novel's diminishing purview."

It's a perceptive and provocative essay, but I don't buy it. For one thing, Roth fails to place the new "neuronovel" in its proper historical context. There is nothing new or trendy about novelists borrowing the language and theories of contemporary science, or even indulging in reductionism and determinism when it suits their aesthetic principles. Consider Emile Zola, the proud founder of naturalism who aspired to write "the scientific novel." The novelist, Zola declared, must literally become a scientist, "employing the experimental method in their study of man." Unfortunately, this led Zola to proclaim his blind faith in heredity and biological determinism. As he wrote in his preface to Therese Raquin, "I have chosen people completely dominated by their nerves and blood, without free will, drawn to each action by the inexorable laws of their physical nature." Of course, Zola's theories are now woefully obsolete. As Oscar Wilde declared, "Zola sits down to give us a picture of the Second Empire. Who cares for the Second Empire now? It is out of date. Life goes faster than Realism."

Jonah Lehrer, “The Neuronovel” (from The Frontal Cortex: http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2009/10/the_neuronovel.php)

The point is that the "reductionism" and "chemical determinism" that have supposedly been embraced by 21st century neuronovelists is both 1) not new and 2) far more subtle and nuanced than the reductionism and determinism celebrated by many 19th century realists. There's a long and rich history of fiction interacting with the latest scientific facts, and I think it's important to understand the neuronovel in this context. George Eliot famously described her novels as a "a set of experiments in life." (She was particularly interested in contesting the ideas of "social physics," the determinism of her day.) Virginia Woolf, before she wrote Mrs. Dalloway, said that in her new novel the "psychology should be done very realistically." Gertrude Stein did research on automatic writing with William James, before doing research in a neuroanatomy lab at Johns Hopkins. Whitman worked in Civil War hospitals and corresponded for years with the neurologist who discovered phantom limb syndrome. (He also kept up with phrenology, the brain science of his day.) Or look at Coleridge. When the poet was asked why he attended so many lectures on chemistry, he gave a great answer: "To improve my stock of metaphors". In other words, this dialogue between contemporary art and contemporary science isn't some newfangled idea, or some 21st century publishing trend designed to sell books. Rather, it's part of a distinguished attempt to grapple with the implications of scientific theory, to understand how our new facts fit with our experience.

Jonah Lehrer, “The Neuronovel” (from The Frontal Cortex: http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2009/10/the_neuronovel.php)

1. How, precisely, do Roth and Pitts-Taylor establish motive?2. How would you describe each writer’s stance?3. Find a claim you agree with or find intriguing and one you disagree with or would revise.4. What about the writer’s methods might you adopt for yourself? What would you do differently?5. What critic(s) do you think of as role models for your won writing? Why?

For Next Week

1. Come in prepared to discuss your seminar project.2. How will establish motive (see Harvey)? What critical or

intellectual conversations or contexts will you engage?3. How would you describe your stance (Harvey again), in

relation to some of the following: neurocogntive approaches to literature; cognitive science, neuroscience, psychology, or psychoanalysis; particular trends or strains in the literary representation of consciousness; the philosophy of mind; contemporary “neuro-novels” or “brain memoirs.”

4. What are some of your goals? What challenges do you anticipate? What do you have questions or want advice about?