Stories Have the Power to Save us: A Neurological Framework for the Imperative to Tell Stories

Le Hunte, AA; Golembiewski, JA

Stories Have the Power to Save us: A Neurological Framework for the Imperative to Tell Stories

Le Hunte, AA

Golembiewski, JA

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Publisher:: OMICS Online (OMICS Publishing Group)
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Arts and Social Sciences Journal, 2014, 5 (2), pp. 1 - 4
Issue Date:: 2014-06-28

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Le Hunte, AA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3313-5222	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Golembiewski, JA	en_US
dc.date.issued	2014-06-28	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Arts and Social Sciences Journal, 2014, 5 (2), pp. 1 - 4	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	2151-6200	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/49857
dc.description.abstract	The evolutionary advantage of humans is in our unique ability to process stories – we have highly evolved ‘narrative organs.’ Through storytelling, vicarious knowledge, even guarded knowledge, is used to help our species survive. We learn, regardless of whether the story being told is ‘truth’ or ‘fiction.’ Humans place themselves in stories, as both observer and participant, to create a ‘neural balance’ or sweet spot that allows them to be immersed in a story without being entirely threatened by it – and this involvement in story leads to the formation of empathy – an empathy that is integral to forging a future humanity. It is through empathy, we argue, that stories have the power to save us. The hippocampi process narrative details. Situated alongside are the amygdalae – organs that place the reader in the story. The temporal lobes store ‘story nuggets.’ Finally there’s the frontal cortex to inhibit full participation in narrative, so that the story can be experienced vicariously.	en_US
dc.publisher	OMICS Online (OMICS Publishing Group)	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Arts and Social Sciences Journal	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.4172/2151-6200.100073	en_US
dc.title	Stories Have the Power to Save us: A Neurological Framework for the Imperative to Tell Stories	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	2	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	5	en_US
utslib.location.activity	USA	en_US
utslib.for	2002 Cultural Studies	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Transdisciplinary Innovation
utslib.copyright.status	open_access
pubs.consider-herdc	true	en_US
pubs.issue	2	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	5	en_US

Abstract:

The evolutionary advantage of humans is in our unique ability to process stories – we have highly evolved ‘narrative organs.’ Through storytelling, vicarious knowledge, even guarded knowledge, is used to help our species survive. We learn, regardless of whether the story being told is ‘truth’ or ‘fiction.’ Humans place themselves in stories, as both observer and participant, to create a ‘neural balance’ or sweet spot that allows them to be immersed in a story without being entirely threatened by it – and this involvement in story leads to the formation of empathy – an empathy that is integral to forging a future humanity. It is through empathy, we argue, that stories have the power to save us. The hippocampi process narrative details. Situated alongside are the amygdalae – organs that place the reader in the story. The temporal lobes store ‘story nuggets.’ Finally there’s the frontal cortex to inhibit full participation in narrative, so that the story can be experienced vicariously.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/49857