Because present-day modelling is descended from ancestral lineages, strains from the ancient modelling persist in the lineages that have speciated away from the ancestral line. For example, the mythologising of historical figures continues today in the field of History.
[1] In this regard, History is as much about using records of the past to construct present-day interpersonal truths
[2] as it is about modelling the past in ways that are true to experience.
[3]
Literature similarly continues the ancestral strain of expressing the interpersonal values around which a community bonds. For example, much of fictional prose involves the creation of a fantasy world where those who express the values of the community are ultimately rewarded. The interpretation of literature can be seen as a continuation of the interpretation of religious texts. The sacred texts of Western literature, such as those of Shakespeare, are quoted, chapter and verse, and students are rewarded for their ability to interpret the interpersonal truths expressed therein.
Footnotes:
[1] For example, the Gallipoli campaign of World War 1.
[2] As part of the process of nation building.
[3] Note that the ancient stories that express interpersonal truths are often later misinterpreted as ideational truths. Not unrelatedly, there are still those who believe that ideational, as well as interpersonal, truth is to be found in literature, without recourse to scientific fields.
ChatGPT revised:
Persistence of Ancestral Strains in Modern Meaning-Making
Because present-day modelling descends from ancestral lineages, strains of ancient modelling continue to surface even in lineages that have since speciated. For instance, the mythologising of historical figures persists within the field of History.[1] In this respect, History functions not only to model the past in ways that are true to experience, but also to construct present-day interpersonal truths[2] by drawing on records of the past.[3]
Literature likewise carries forward the ancestral function of expressing the interpersonal values around which communities cohere. Much fictional prose, for example, constructs fantasy worlds in which those who embody the values of the community are ultimately rewarded. The interpretation of literature can be seen as a continuation of the interpretation of sacred texts. The canonical works of Western literature — Shakespeare, for instance — are cited chapter and verse, and students are rewarded for their capacity to discern the interpersonal truths encoded in their lines.