Vol. 80 No. 3/4 – Summer/Fall, 2021

Special Issue on Mind, Cognition, and Structures

Mind, Cognition, and Structures: An Editorial Introduction

Anthony Bak Buccitelli

This special issue of Western Folklore grew out of the panel “Theorizing Nature, Theorizing Mind,” which took place at the 2019 annual meeting of the American Folklore Society in Baltimore, MD, and at which I was an audience member. Although the panelists’ papers were addressing different concerns, sometimes with divergent methods, theories, or approaches, there was a certain set of overlaps or family resemblances that united their work. In particular, the panelists seemed all to be talking, in their own ways, about how folklorists might approach questions around mind or cognition, structures or categories, and generalizability or law-making.

The (Re)Cognition of Folklore: A History and Philosophy

Simon J. Bronner

ABSTRACT: The concept of cognition arose with the beginnings of European folklore scholarship. Debate concerned whether the creation of folklore in modern life is an embodied cultural response or an intentional mindful action. The folkloristic move away from cognition can be attributed to a philosophical empiricism in which only knowledge of externalized evidence gained through observation and collection is valid. The essay surveys alternative folkloristic philosophies and approaches oriented toward cognition. KEYWORDS: cognition, psychology, historiography, theory, philosophy

Folklore and Transmarginal Consciousness

Jay Mechling

ABSTRACT: Scientific psychology continues to chart the characteristics of altered states of consciousness, what William James called transmarginal consciousness, a world of exceptional mental states beyond the margin of our awake, everyday, taken-for-granted reality. People often use traditional practices of play and ritual to induce transmarginal states of consciousness. Neuroscience and evolutionary psychology suggest some important functions of temporary passages from the ordinary to the exceptional states, including triggering creativity. KEYWORDS: hallucinations, mysticism, trance, consciousness, play, ritual

“I Hope You’re Well”: Magical Thinking in Digital Correspondence

Simon J. Bronner

ABSTRACT: The ubiquitous practice of opening emails with “I hope you’re well” has sparked public debate on whether it is mindless or folkloric, i.e., mindful and purposeful. This essay addresses the issue by analyzing the cognition behind this and related expressions. Drawing on the concept of Einfache Formen and practice theory, the essay hypothesizes that the verbal enactment of hoping and wishing is psychologically significant in its framing of magical thinking at the core of folklore. KEYWORDS: cognition, psychology, magic, practice theory, digital culture, habit, Einfache Formen

“Build Bridges, Not Walls”: The Text and its Contexts

Anna Konstantinova

ABSTRACT: This paper discusses linguistic, cognitive, and discursive profiles of the popular dictum “Build bridges, not walls.” The compactness and vivid imagery of the proverb reflect a powerful cognitive ideal that is supported by the current US sociopolitical environment. These elements account for its widespread success as a rational instrument of orientation in the sociopolitical landscape. KEYWORDS: modern proverb, anti-Trump discourse, sociopolitical activism, proverb creation, cognitive ideal

Narrative as a Mode of Vernacular/Folk Discourse

John Laudun

ABSTRACT: This essay takes a granular approach to vernacular discourse that attempts to parse conventional folk narrative texts into passages that it ascribes as descriptive, narrative, reportative, informative, or argumentative. The goal of such classification at the microtext level is not only to describe folk narratives with greater accuracy but also to explore what parts of vernacular discourse previously less attended might warrant attention by folklorists. KEYWORDS: verbal arts, narrative, discourse, genre, genre analysis