easy · LSAT Reading Comprehension
The 'literary Darwinism' movement holds that the themes of great literature are primarily shaped by evolved biological imperatives, such as mate selection and kin altruism. Critics counter that this approach neglects the powerful influence of particular cultural and historical contexts on an author's work, pointing out that the same biological drives have produced wildly different literary expressions across the centuries.
The author's primary purpose in the passage is to
- lay out a dispute between two rival ways of explaining what shapes the themes of literature
- marshal evidence in support of the claims advanced by the literary Darwinism movement
- establish that cultural context and biological drives are fundamentally incapable of coexisting
- contend that evolved biological imperatives are the single most decisive influence on literary themes
- trace the historical development of literary Darwinism from its origins to its present-day critics
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