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The Story Paradox
- How Our Love of Storytelling Builds Societies and Tears Them Down
- Narrated by: Joshua Kane
- Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Storytelling, a tradition that built human civilization, may soon destroy it.
Humans are storytelling animals. Stories are what make our societies possible. Countless books celebrate their virtues. But Jonathan Gottschall, an expert on the science of stories, argues that there is a dark side to storytelling we can no longer ignore. Storytelling, the very tradition that built human civilization, may be the thing that destroys it.
In The Story Paradox, Gottschall explores how a broad consortium of psychologists, communications specialists, neuroscientists, and literary quants are using the scientific method to study how stories affect our brains. The results challenge the idea that storytelling is an obvious force for good in human life. Yes, storytelling can bind groups together, but it is also the main force dragging people apart. And it’s the best method we’ve ever devised for manipulating each other by circumventing rational thought. Behind all civilization’s greatest ills - environmental destruction, runaway demagogues, warfare - you will always find the same master factor: a mind-disordering story.
Gottschall argues that societies succeed or fail depending on how they manage these tensions. And it has only become harder, as new technologies that amplify the effects of disinformation campaigns, conspiracy theories, and fake news make separating fact from fiction nearly impossible.
With clarity and conviction, Gottschall reveals why our biggest asset has become our greatest threat, and what, if anything, can be done. It is a call to stop asking, “How we can change the world through stories?” and start asking, “How can we save the world from stories?”
Critic Reviews
“[a] thoughtful and entertaining investigation on a critical question: ‘How can we save the world from stories?’… Fresh insights about the ways we understand reality.”—Kirkus
“Jonathan Gottschall is not only the deepest thinker about the powerful role of stories in our lives, but a lively and witty writer. The Story Paradox offers much insight and many pleasures.”—Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of How the Mind Works and Rationality.
"Jonathan Gottschall has written a gripping and thoughtful book on a neglected but urgent topic: the dark side of stories. With crisp prose and an array of fascinating examples, he demonstrates how our innate ability to spin tales can lead to distortion, dissolution, and destruction. The Storytelling Paradox is a bracing call to action to become more empathetic and to deploy narrative as a force for good."—Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of When, Drive
"A really fascinating breakdown of the way we process stories and fiction, and how it may be impacting the dangerous evaporation of our shared sense of reality. Check it out, you'll enjoy it."—Seth MacFarlane, Creator of The Family Guy, American Dad, and The Orville.