EVOLUTION AND LITERARY-THEORY

Presupposing that all knowledge is the study of a unitary order of nat ure, the author maintains that the study of literature should be inclu ded within the larger field of evolutionary theory. He outlines four e lementary concepts in evolutionary theory, and he argues that these co ncepts should regulate our understanding of literature. On the basis o f these concepts, he repudiates the antirealist and irrationalist view s that, under the aegis of ''poststructuralism,'' have dominated acade mic literary studies for the past two decades. He examines the linkage between poststructuralism and standard social science, and he specula tes about the ideological and disciplinary motives that have hitherto impeded evolutionary study in both the social sciences and the humanit ies. Finally, he distinguishes literature from science and argues that literary criticism integrates elements of both.