During the reporting period, GROUPMINDS has developed and implemented an interdisciplinary research framework for analysing collective cognition in ancient literature and thought. Its core scientific activity has been the systematic integration of cognitive narratology, philosophy of mind, and theories of socially distributed cognition with rigorous philological and literary-historical analysis.
- Methodological Innovation
The project’s primary achievement lies in the development of a structured analytical model for identifying and comparing representations of group minds, intermental relations, and collective agency across genres and periods. Rather than using cognitive theory illustratively, the project has operationalised concepts such as shared intentionality, distributed cognition, collective emotion, and cognitive alignment within detailed textual analyses. These concepts have been examined in dialogue with historically embedded ancient categories (e.g. civic concord, communal identity, collective responsibility), ensuring theoretical precision and avoiding anachronism.
This framework has been applied across historiography, epic, lyric and drama, philosophy, and the ancient novel. A key conceptual development has been the articulation of new literary-cognitive tools—such as “cognitive mapping” for analysing dyadic and small-scale collective cognition—extending the project beyond individual case studies toward transferable analytical models.
- Scientific Output
Within two years, the team has produced a substantial corpus of peer-reviewed and accepted publications in leading journals and volumes. Twenty-four manuscripts have been submitted; fifteen have been accepted and five are under review. These outputs extend the study of collective cognition into political theory, historiography, performance, philosophy, and collective emotion, demonstrating the project’s coherence and interdisciplinary scope.
- Consolidation of Interdisciplinary Research
The project has also established itself as a platform for sustained dialogue between Classics, philosophy, and cognitive science. A major international conference and a programme of invited lectures and workshops have reinforced its role in shaping research agendas at the intersection of Humanities and cognitive inquiry.
- Institutional and Technical Developments
The scientific trajectory has led to two structural outcomes: the development of a Master’s-level programme institutionalising Cognitive Classics, and the initiation of an immersive Virtual Reality (VR) strand translating findings on collective deliberation into experiential modelling. This extends the project from interpretation to interactive exploration of collective cognition.
OUTCOMES OF THE ACTION
The project has delivered:
- A coherent interdisciplinary framework for analysing group minds in antiquity.
- A substantial body of peer-reviewed research consolidating Cognitive Classics.
- New conceptual tools applicable across genres and periods.
- A sustainable postgraduate training structure.
- An innovative technological strand exploring experiential modelling.
Together, these achievements position GROUPMINDS as a major contribution to the cognitive humanities and to the study of collective agency and intersubjectivity in historical perspective.
