The Power of Stories to Tear Us Apart

“In his TED Talk ‘Be suspicious of stories,’ Tyler Cowen explains that, when we create stories, ‘We’re imposing order on the mess we observe.'”

The power of stories is undeniable. Across all cultures, humans create and share stories obsessively—in conversations, books, movies, Twitter threads, etc. “We tell and take in stories as much as we sleep—and even then we dream,” writes screenwriting guru Robert McKee. To explain why this is so, he quotes film critic Kenneth Burke: “Stories are equipment for living.”

In virtually all respects, stories are considered a powerful force for good. Today, operating in parallel to the multi-billion-dollar entertainment industry, there is a sub-industry of intellectuals touting the powerful mental health benefits associated with consuming stories. For example, fiction writer George Saunders regularly appears on mainstream outlets to discuss how literature has the power to increase a person’s empathy towards others. The psychologist Jordan Peterson recently achieved international celebrity in part by championing the life-affirming benefits of Biblical stories. And literature professor Angus Fletcher is currently promoting his new book Wonderworks, which walks through 25 “inventions” in literature that help humans express love, overcome fear and trauma, and generally navigate life.

There is no doubt that stories have beneficial powers. In fact, it is difficult not to appreciate the work that Saunders, Peterson, Fletcher, and others do to promote the power of stories. But it is curious how rarely public intellectuals talk about the ways in which stories bring about harm. It may be the case that “stories are equipment for living,” but that does not mean that stories are necessarily equipment for living well. On balance, the benefits of stories no doubt outweigh the downsides, but that does not mean we should ignore the downsides—especially at this time in history, when conflicting stories are directly responsible for causing the greatest divisions in families, between political parties, and between nations.