Jonathan Gottschall

Jonathan Gottschall writes books at the intersection of science and art. His most recent work, The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human (a New York Times Editor’s Choice selection), draws on the latest research in neuroscience, psychology and biology to show how storytelling has evolved as a fundamental human instinct. Jonathan teaches in the English Department at Washington & Jefferson College in Pennsylvania and blogs about the mysteries of storytelling at Psychology Today. His work has been featured in outlets like The New York Times, Nature, Scientific American, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Oprah Magazine, and NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Described by Steven Pinker as “a brilliant young scholar,” Jonathan is the author or editor of six books, including The Rape of Troy: Evolution, Violence and the World of Homer and Literature, Science, and a New Humanities.

Jonathan Gottschall appears in the following:

What's Left When You're Right?

Thursday, September 05, 2019

From the stage to the cage, a series of showdowns that leave us wondering about the price of being right ... or coming from the left.

Comments [97]

Mixed Martial Arts and Human Civilization

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

English professor Jonathan Gottschall spent time training in mixed martial arts, and came away with a theory about the human inclination for violence and the key to civilization.

Comments [42]

What's Right When You're Left?

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

What's right when you're left?

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Why we fall into a good book

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Writer Jonathan Gottschall explores why the real world falls away when we hear a good story... 

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The Science Behind Telling Stories

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

In his ongoing efforts to bring more science to the humanities, Jonathan Gottschall looks at the human "instinct" for narrative. Gottschall teaches English at Washington & Jefferson College and is the author of the new book The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human

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