Brain and Mind in the Creation of Literature

Abstract

Evolution consists of preserving and passing on information. Beyond genetics, thinking evolved a way to understand the environment to survive in it. On its constant path to higher levels of abstraction, the psyche generated language as a tool to transmit and store information. Thus, language follows the rules of the psyche which is constantly active in constructing an image of the world. As a part of this constructive process, art and literature evolved. Literature is created by an individual psyche based on its previously stored information merging with the culture the writer lives in. Basic units of the psyche consist of systematic concepts to facilitate interacting with the environment, the most important one being the concept of the self. A healthy psyche inevitably depends on a healthy self-image, a stable concept of the person which consequently demands for a person-centered medicine.