Stories can change our behavior. They can influence our perceptions. They may even have the potential to, quite literally, change the flow of history—or at least some parts of it.
A conversation with Jonathan Gottschall, care of Scientific American...
MK: You talk about the fine line between creativity and insanity. How do we keep our storytelling in check, so that it is a productive and not a destructive force in our lives?
JG: The human mind is addicted to stories. We make them up all time, and we can easily be taken in by them. Once we latch on to a story (be it a religious narrative or a conspiracy theory) it’s hard to give it up. So we need to be wary of the power of story. But, on the other hand, a little fiction can be a good thing. Take our own life stories. We all have a story that we tell about ourselves—about who we are, what our formative experiences were, and what our lives mean. But psychologists have shown that these stories aren’t very trustworthy. They are based on distorted memories and wildly optimistic assessments of our own qualities. Yet, crafting these stories—and believing them—seems to be preserve our mental health. People who don’t overrate their own personal qualities tend to get depressed. So the little fictions we make up about ourselves are healthy, so long as they don’t cross over into narcissistic travesty.
1 comment:
This is powerful, Jonathan. Because, as writers, we *need* to go beyond those "curated" stories people tell, even--maybe most importantly--our own. If avoiding the overrating of those stories leads to depression, and that very avoidance is the key to potent fiction (in my book, and forgive the pun), it doesn't look too good for the mental health of writers.
It's ok. I knew it--we're all cuckoo :)
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