Introduction: animal, human, art, story
Book 1: Evolution, art, and fiction
Part 1: Evolution and nature
Evolution and human nature?
Evolution, adaptation, and adapted minds
The evolution of intelligence
The evolution of cooperation
Part 2: Evolution and art
Art as adaptation?
Art as cognitive play
Art and attention
From tradition to innovation
Part 3: Evolution and fiction
Art, narrative, fiction
Understanding and recalling events
Narrative: representing events
Fiction: inventing events
Fiction as adaptation
Book II: From Zeus to Seuss: origins of stories
Part 4: Phylogeny: the Odyssey
Earning attention (1): natural patterns: character and plot
Earning attention (s): open-ended patterns: ironies of structure
The evolution of intelligence (1): in the here and now
The evolution of intelligence (2): beyond the here and now
The evolution of cooperation (1): expanding the circle
The evolution of cooperation (2): punishment
Part 5: Ontogeny: Horton hears a who!
Levels of explanation: universal, local, and individual
Levels of explanation: individuality again
Levels of explanation: particular
Meanings
Conclusion: retrospect and prospects: evolution, literature, criticism.