Fritz Breithaupt, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Experimental Humanities Lab. He is both a humanities scholar working on German and European literature and a cognitive scientist. In his work, he examines how we “think” in forms of short stories and how we share experiences. To do this, he uses experiments with “Telephone Games” were some 10,000 people retold stories in chains. He also works on empathy, aesthetics, and transformative experiences. His books have been translated into many languages, including Korean. His book The Narrative Brain (2025), won the official prize of Science Book of the Year in Austria. He publishes in both science and humanities journals, including PNAS, Scientific Reports, DVJS, and Critical Inquiry. He also frequently is in the press, including NPR, BBC, Der Spiegel, and Die Zeit.
» Pillar: Cognition, Learning & Human Flourishing