Supersizing narrative theory: on intention, material agency, and extended mind-workers

Abstract

In recent years, cognitive science has progressively entered the epoch of “4E” cognition,” in which the mind is considered as embedded, enacted, embodied and extended. However, among these second-generation perspectives, the extended mind theory (Clark and Chalmers) seems to have lagged behind in the narratological discourse. According to this view, the human mind extends into the world when coupled with external cognitive tools like computers or material symbols such as language. This article seeks to apply the extended mind theory to the problem of literary intentions by putting the key principles of the theory in relation to the act of narrative worldmaking. In so doing, I suggest that EMT entails a reconsideration of the concept of authorial intentions in that it provides a distributed account of agency during the writing activity. In the last part of the essay I elaborate on the further implications of this reappraisal for literary interpretation.