Cognitive Science and Medieval Studies : An Introduction

This book argues for the value of applying methods deriving from cognitive sciences (such as neuroscience or psychology) to studies of medieval history, literature, art and culture, and suggests ways in which this comparative approach might be achieved.

What is the value of mapping how neurons fire when engaging with literature and art? How can we understand psychological stress as a historically specific phenomenon? What can medieval mystics teach us about contemplation and cognition? With the rapid development of the cognitive sciences and their importance to how we contemplate questions about the mind and society, recent research in the humanities has been characterized by a ‘cognitive turn’. For their part, the humanities play an important role in forming popular ideas of the human mind and in analyzing the way cognitive, psychological, and emotional phenomena are experienced in time and space. Cognitive Sciences and Medieval Studies aims to inspire medievalists and other scholars within the humanities to engage with the tools and investigative methodologies deriving from cognitive sciences. Contributors explore topics including medieval and modern philosophy of mind, the psychology of religion, the history of psychological medicine, and the re-emergence of the body in cognition.