I chanced upon this rather turgid article that claims there is now a new sub genre of literature. The writer coins the label “Neuronarratives” to denote works of fiction that incorporate advances in cognitive studies. The writer takes the “two cultures” debate as the organizing theme in the two novels under consideration. One of the books that he refers to that I have read is David Lodge’s Thinks . . . Another novel that I’ve read but is not referenced is Dan Lloyd’s Radiant Cool.
Both novels are written by university insiders: the former makes all-knowing play of the incestuous culture of universities, the protagonist being a Dennett-like character (intellectually, not in a personal sense). In effect, this novel is fluff: the neuro content is incidental and is merely used as a device to make the novel seem current and the writer deep. The latter is actually a work of philosophical imagination – and not surprisingly was written by a philosopher. Having recently read John Casti’s The Cambridge Quintet: A Work of Scientific Speculation which scans the history of AI and consciousness over the last 50 years, I am of the view that these novels fall under the rubric of “novels of ideas” and do not constitute a new genre – there is no plausible collecting feature to denote a sub genre.
