Consciousness and the Extended Mind in the “Metamodernist” Novel
Nick Lavery
English Studies October 3, 2018 DOI: 10.1080/0013838x.2018.1510613 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Ali Smith's How to be Both and Will Self's Umbrella employ a metamodernist approach to depicting subjective consciousness, implying an extended model of mind that can be understood as an oscillation at the level of consciousness, a dynamic the authors propose is fundamental to the mind in these novels. |
Abstract
ABSTRACT This article argues that Ali Smith’s How to be Both (2014) and Will Self’s Umbrella (2012) can be read as employing a metamodernist approach to the depiction of subjective consciousness. The article looks at how both novels follow on from their authors’ engagement with recent advances and debates in philosophy of mind. This engagement results in an implicit model of the mind as extended in both novels. Drawing on work on the relationship between cognition and affect, the article argues that this model of the mind can be understood in terms of an oscillation at the level of consciousness. This article proposes that oscillation is a dynamic fundamental to the mind as depicted in these novels, allowing it to connect the metamodernist framework with contemporary philosophy of mind.