In one example, the author contends that at root, the malaise of depression is the loss of our own story and the effectiveness of talk therapy is in helping us to rebuild our own personal narratives. However, unlike some other reviewers, I particularly enjoyed the sections on brain science and the role story plays in our dreams, in mental illness and in the development of human culture. The book does drag in parts and significant sections consist of summaries of materials covered in more depth in other books. This is Gottschall's premise and he makes his case pretty convincingly. If you stop to think about it, stories are the framework around which we build our understanding of reality-whether the stories revolve around history, religion, myth, nationality, science, gaming, drama, fiction or our own lives. I think most people interested in books and psychology will enjoy it. The book starts slowly but picks up in energy and interest as it goes along. The narrator is OK, but I wonder why he felt he had to deliver some quotes in quite bizarre accents. We long for patterns and reasons - can conspiracy theories be far behind? I especially enjoyed the discussion about ways in which new technologies are changing how we tell and experience stories - from so-called "reality" shows to interactive and role-playing computer games. Gottschall also alerts us to reasons why we should be aware that this tendency also opens us up to the possibility of misinterpreting and being manipulated. From ancient fire circles to books to radio and movies to TV sets, headphones, and computers, "story is the glue of human social life." This short listen may not bring to light any really new concepts, but it offers interesting examples of how we use stories for education, entertainment, and reassurance that there is meaning in life. The Storytelling Animal finally reveals how stories shape us. Most successful stories are moral - they teach us how to live, whether explicitly or implicitly, and bind us together around common values. But as Gottschall shows in this remarkable book, stories can also change the world for the better. National myths can also be terribly dangerous: Hitler's ambitions were partly fueled by a story. It makes us vulnerable to conspiracy theories, advertisements, and narratives about ourselves that are more "truthy" than true. Of course, our story instinct has a darker side. Did you know that the more absorbed you are in a story, the more it changes your behavior? That all children act out the same kinds of stories, whether they grow up in a slum or a suburb? That people who read more fiction are more empathetic? Storytelling has evolved, like other behaviors, to ensure our survival.ĭrawing on the latest research in neuroscience, psychology, and evolutionary biology, Gottschall tells us what it means to be a storytelling animal. He argues that stories help us navigate life's complex social problems - just as flight simulators prepare pilots for difficult situations. In this delightful and original book, Jonathan Gottschall offers the first unified theory of storytelling. It's easy to say that humans are "wired" for story, but why? Yet the world of story has long remained an undiscovered and unmapped country. Even sporting events and criminal trials unfold as narratives. Humans live in landscapes of make-believe.
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