Good stories are by their nature seductive. They are written to lull the reader into the story world without a thought of what is left behind, bringing narrative to life in the minds eye. There are however, no stories better written, or more seductive, than the ones we tell ourselves.
The Power of Narrative
From Aesop’s fables to the parables of Jesus, stories are how we learn moral lessons of life. We understand and relate based on the rhythms and beats a story makes. In Joseph Campbell’s Hero With A Thousand Faces, he observes that all legends and cultures have stories that follow similar outlines in what he calls the heroes journey. Complete with: hero, guide, call to adventure, refusal to the call, etc. A concept George Lucas used as an aid in the creation of the first Star Wars film.
It is through these stories that we relate to one another and find shared meaning in our journeys. However, if all this is true, and story is so important and powerful as a tool to communicate and teach, how do we solve the Narrative Fallacy?
Falling Into Narratives
In The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb, the author observes the dangers of the Narrative Fallacy or, “Narrativity.” A state in which we make sense of events by creating a narrative thread to weave together consequences from events, discounting the…
