Introduction: Nationalism as a Knowledge and Feeling System

The National Mind is an interdisciplinary investigation of how nationalism and the sense of nationhood shape our minds. It offers an original theoretical framework informed by a wide range of philosophical and scientific fields, from phenomenology and narratology to emotion research and social neuroscience. In this respect, it contributes to the recent efforts of building consilience between the natural and social sciences. Taking into consideration its diverse target audience, the Introduction explains the book’s motivation, objective, main questions, and original conceptual framework in plain terms.