-but it seems to crop up with any people who are somewhat in touch with reality, that getting people out of storytelling is nigh-impossible.
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i'm interested to hear more about this - what do you mean by "getting people out of storytelling", and why is doing so desirable?
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@ParadoxNow_ talks about how storytelling can be a means for transformative growth, and how stories usually have some hidden truth.
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supports and underpins this view with his own experience & example.
I think I agree with both of those things, as stated.
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What I'm struggling with here, is that it seems especially hard not just to get people to abandon stories (bad, for reasons I'll touch on),-
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- but that getting any traction at all in changing the thrust of those stories is nigh-impossible, even with empathy & opportunity.
Storytelling is inextricably linked with survival. Without a story to tell, people die. No meaning -> no reason to live.
No conflict there.
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So we need stories and I'm not saying we should get rid of those, just so we're clear. I don't think that's desirable.
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We use stories to get around the world, define ourselves against others, try to understand ourselves and countless more things, obviously.
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The problem is some of these stories are poisonous, to ourselves, others or both.
E.g. "I'm all that matters," the story of a sociopath.
Let's return to heuristics. Stories are heuristical. They teach general truths at the cost of precision when applied to individual cases.
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Heuristics are fucking awesome. Without them we wouldn't be much good at making decisions.
But they work over an array of situations.
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yeah, i think some people are unwilling to change their stories b.c. they serve as justification for their actions / habits
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and if you lend empathy / help to them, you might be met with evasion or secrecy regarding the underlying issue