What are stories and why do we need them?

Image by Mystic Art Design from Pixabay

These two questions probably sound like they have even more obvious answers than ‘What is science and why do we need it?’ But the sheer amount of stories we engage with nowadays, the many different forms they take, and the immense differences in how our individual minds perceive and process them, makes it just as complicated to answer neatly.

Unlike science though, I’m probably a lot closer to being an expert on this one. But that’s not so grand a claim as it might seem because everyone else in the world probably is as well. No matter where we are born, or what our backgrounds are, we are all brought up with stories of some kind. Whether they are fairy tales, folk tales, novels, TV programmes, news stories, religious stories, films, old wives’ tales, flash fiction, modern or traditional fables, urban myths, anecdotes, social media posts (some, not all!), or even marketing / advertising narratives, most of us are bombarded with stories every day of our lives. And most of those stories exist to tell us the same things: Do this; Don’t do that; Isn’t life great?; Isn’t life terrible?

 Sure, they might explore their themes and ideas in a far more complex way than this suggests, and importantly, their messages are entirely context-dependent (where, when and by whom they are being told), but they are all at root about sharing the experience of life, and seeking a way forward from where we are. They can validate our existing ideas, or challenge them (the latter is probably less popular – especially nowadays - as people in general don’t like their existing ideas to be challenged too much), but they tend to support the idea that co-operation between individuals leads to a more beneficial way of life for everyone, while defection causes more people to suffer (and indeed, if you look at the science behind game theory, the evolutionarily stable state (ESS) usually tends towards co-operation, both in humans and other species).

Again, the details of this (what constitutes co-operation or defection) changes depending on the context of place and time. For example, in the Western world, you will find more stories that support individuals doing their own thing to achieve their goal, often against authority figures; while in the East, the emphasis is on groups and families working together, often to defend or maintain the ideals of authority figures. Political ideals, of course, carry a lot of weight in the context of who, where, and when, as do ideas around morals. These are often based on supernatural (religious, spiritual) traditional stories – in other words, what has worked best for certain people in the past, and what hasn’t (a big NB here: we’re talking about what works best for the people who write, edit and publish stories here - the people who have control over them. Just like science, stories can be misused, and propaganda, coercion and manipulation are among the most nefarious examples of this).

So we need stories because they are a way of sharing our individual experiences of life, and finding a better way forward from where we currently are now. They are about what has happened (or is happening), and what then should or could happen. At root, that doesn’t sound so different to science, does it? Exploring what we know about ourselves to find a better way to live. The main difference is that stories rely on subjectivity rather than objectivity. They explore the experience of existing as a conscious being; our individual and group psychologies; the emotional, primal reactions of the older parts of our brain, as well as (sometimes versus) the rational decisions we then come to (or fail to come to).

This might all sound a little reductive, and nowadays, with our vast universe of stories spread throughout galaxies of different formats, modes and motivations, it probably is. But imagine being one of our earliest ancestors, one of the first conscious beings to realise both self-awareness and a theory of mind. To discover that not only are you alive, and aware of it, but that others around you are as well. You would have questions, wouldn’t you (once you are able to form them)? But who would you ask these questions of? Well, everything around you. The burning orange circle in the sky that appears, bringing with it light and sight and safety, that travels higher and higher, then sinks and sinks, before disappearing; the cold blue-white circle that replaces it, bringing darkness, fear and danger; the other things that run and hide, skulk and attack; that can eat you or be eaten by you; those other things that don’t move, are easier to feed on, and provide shelter. You would find answers in all of these things, and many more, and you would share them with those other things that are more like you, that behave like you, that come from you; those that share in and shape whatever language you are capable of, be it spoken, drawn, written or sculpted. Because sharing these stories can make you all stronger (until you learn that you can also use them in other ways, of course, that strengthen only those you personally benefit from making stronger!). And so, in the words of Kurt Vonnegut, it goes. More things, more stories, and more ways of using and sharing them.

But when I think about these questions personally (what are stories and why do I need them?), I have to give a different answer: to escape. And I’m sure many of you would agree. Our lives, and the way we interact with things around us, have become so complex over the past few thousand years that one of the most important benefits of being able to share stories is not to explore how and why we live, but to get away from such questions, from the pressures or mundanity of our own lives. Is such escapism a good thing or a bad thing? Well that, as always, depends on the story, and who is sharing it, I suppose. Even when we think we are escaping, we are still taking in messages. Even if we are watching Fast and Furious #222: Driving A Space Tank Through Time*, we are still taking on board information about who we are, how we live, and how we should live. We are still having our personal values either validated or challenged. So a final word of warning is needed: as with science, always be asking questions of stories: What is the context? Who, where and when is it coming from? What do they want me to get from it, and what am I getting from it?

Because science and stories aren’t so different - they are both attempts to answer our questions on life, consciousness and the unimaginably vast environment we find ourselves in, spatially and temporally. They are also both imperfect and corruptible - after all, they are the tools of an imperfect and corruptible species. And really, more so than my passion for science alone, it is this that inspired me to write The Misadventures of Stank and Bohdrum - the idea that as much as stories and scientific enquiry attempt to answer our questions, they can - and should - only ever raise more.

If you’re interested in what stories are and why we need them, and want a more detailed insight than the admittedly reductive answer I’ve given above, I recommend the following resources (with the usual caveat of questioning them as much as you absorb them):

The Seven Basic Plots – Christopher Booker

Into the Woods – John Yorke

How Novels Work – John Mullan

The Greek Myths – Robert Graves (Not just all the myths gathered together in one anthology, but importantly including a socio-political commentary from Graves on that factors that might have inspired each of them.)

Maps of Meaning – Jordan Peterson (lecture series focusing on the psychology of beliefs and stories, through a detailed analysis of Disney’s Pinocchio)

Behave – Robert Sapolsky (Stories as well as everything else about human behaviour – honestly, I can’t recommend this book enough)

The Extended Phenotype – Richard Dawkins (not just about stories, but how ideas such as stories culturally replicate from a genetic perspective. Also, you can find out what memes really are (a clue: not just gifs!))

*Actually, thinking about it, if the F&F series continues on to #222, it will probably have extended well beyond time-travel, if the last couple of entries are anything to go by…