Why do we tell stories? Hunter-gatherers shed light on the evolutionary roots of fiction
Daniel Smiththeconversation.com
Why do we tell stories? Hunter-gatherers shed light on the evolutionary roots of fiction
... See moreStories are tribal propaganda. They control their group, manipulating its members into behaving in ways that benefit it. And it works. A recent study of eighteen hunter-gatherer tribes found almost eighty per cent of their stories contained lessons in how they should behave in their dealings with other people. The groups with the greater proportion
This ability to construct narrative is more than just a skill we’ve managed to master, it’s become our very means of interpreting reality. Similar to our instinct for learning language, researchers have observed an almost universal inclination in children for absorbing and creating narrative. And our personal identities can be seen as the most intr
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What’s more, the ability to tell a good story is the surest sign of social success. People in their community would most ‘like to live with’ a storyteller.
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Evolutionary psychologists propose that storytelling has an adaptive function: it helps us make sense of non-routine, uncertain or novel situations collectively (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). We tell stories to each other to explain the unexplainable, to find patterns in chaos, and to navigate uncertainty together. In a complex world, stories that reflec
... See moreStories and folktales are what bind us together as a community. They tell us who we are and why we have obligations towards each other.
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The Secrets of Storytelling: Why We Love a Good Yarn
scientificamerican.com