ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the mental states of dissociation and cognitive absorption promoted by the performance of ancient drama enhanced decision making and empathy. It describes the advances in the field of neuroaesthetics on what has been called the brain's Default Mode Network (DMN), which has started to establish neural evidence for the cognitive advantages of absorption. The neural activity of the DMN may explain the type of cognitive absorption created by mimetic aesthetic events, such as music, poetry, innovative narrative action, and visual art, all essential elements of Greek drama. The chapter explores the cognitive effects of mind-body dissonance, proposes that Greek drama provoked this kind of cognitive state and demonstrates how empathy can be enhanced by dissociation. It offers some examples of empathy in political action in Athenian society, suggesting a "spill-over effect" from the theatre into public political life.
