Reading Literature Makes Us Smarter and Nicer
A. Gregory Currie, a professor of philosophy at the University of Nottingham, recently argued in the New York Times that we ought not to claim that literature improves us as people, because there is no "convincing evidence that suggests that people are morally or socially better for reading Tolstoy" or other great books.
B. Actually, there is such evidence. Raymond Mar, a psychologist at York University in Canada, and Keith Oatley, a retired professor of cognitive (认知的) psychology at the University of Toronto, reported in studies published in 2006 and 2009 that individuals who often read fiction appear to be better able to understand other people, empathize (有同感) with them and view the world from their perspective. This link persisted even after the researchers factored in the possibility that more empathetic individuals might choose to read more novels. A 2010 study by Mar found a similar result in young children: the more stories they had read to them, the keener their "theory of mind," or mental model of other people"s intentions.
C. "Deep reading"—as opposed to the often superficial reading we do on the Web—is an enered practice, one we ought to take steps to preserve as we would a historic building or a significant work of art. Its disappearance would cause damage to the intellectual and emotional development of generations growing up online, as well as the enduring part of a critical part of our culture: the novels, poems and other kinds of literature that can be appreciated only by readers whose brains, quite literally, have been trained to understand them.
D. Recent research in cognitive science, psychology and neuroscience has demonstrated that deep reading—slow, immersive, rich in sensory detail and emotional and moral complexity—is a distinctive experience, different in kind from the mere understanding of words. Although deep reading does not, strictly speaking, require a conventional book, the built-in limits of the printed page are uniquely beneficial to the deep reading experience. A book"s lack of hyperlinks (超链接), for example, frees the reader from decisions—Should I click on this link or not—allowing her to remain fully focus on the narrative.
E. That immersion is supported by the way the brain handles language rich in detail, implication and metaphor (暗喻): by creating a mental representation that draws on the same brain regions that would be active if the scene were displayed in real life. The emotional situations and moral dilemmas that are the stuff of literature are also vigorous exercise for the brain, prompting us inside the heads of fictional characters and even, studies suggest, increasing our real-life capacity for empathy.
F. None of this is likely to happen when we"re scrolling through TMZ. Although we call the activity by the same name, the deep reading of books and the information-driven reading we do on the Web are very different, both in the experience they produce and in the capacities they develop. A growing body of evidence suggests that online reading may be less engaging and less satisfying, even for the "digital natives" for whom it is so familiar.
G. Last month, for example, Britain"s National Literacy Trust released the results of a study of 34,910 young people aged 8 to 16. Researchers reported that 39% of children and s read daily using electronic devices, but only 28% read printed materials every day. Those who read only onscreen were three times less likely to say they enjoy reading very much and a third less likely to have a favorite book. The study also found that young people who read daily only onscreen were nearly two times less likely to be above-average readers than those who read daily in print or both in print and onscreen.
H. To understand why we should be concerned about how young people read, and not just whether they"re reading at all, it helps to know something about the way the ability to read evolved. "Human beings were never born to read," notes Maryanne Wolf, director of the Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts University and author of Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain . Unlike the ability to understand and produce spoken language, which under normal circumstances will show up according to a program dictated by our genes, the ability to read must be acquired by each individual through effort. The "reading circuits" we construct are recruited from structures in the brain that evolved for other purposes—and these circuits can be weak or they can be strong, depending on how often and how vigorously we use them.
I. The deep reader, protected from distractions and adapted to the tiny differences of language, enters a state that psychologist Victor Nell, in a study of the psychology of pleasure reading, likens to a hypnotic trance (催眠性迷睡). Nell found that when readers are enjoying the experience the most, the pace of their reading actually slows. The combination of fast, fluent decoding of words and slow, unhurried progress on the page gives deep readers time to enrich their reading with reflection, ysis, and their own memories and opinions. It gives them time to establish an intimate relationship with the author, the two of them engaged in an extended and passionate conversation like people falling in love.
J. This is not reading as many young people are coming to know it. Their reading is practical and instrumental: the difference between what literary critic Frank Kermode calls " carnal (的) reading" and "spiritual reading." If we allow our offspring to believe carnal reading is all there is—if we don"t open the door to spiritual reading, through an early insistence on discipline and practice—we will have cheated them of an enjoyable, even extremely exciting experience they would not otherwise have. And we will have deprived them of an enlightening experience that will enlarge them as people. Observing young people"s attachment to digital devices, some progressive educators and tolerant parents talk about needing to "meet kids where they are," guiding them around their onscreen habits. This is mistaken. We need, rather, to show them someplace they"ve never been, a place only deep reading can take them. Reading Literature Makes Us Smarter and NicerMore and more evidence suggests that online reading may be less engaging and less satisfying.