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Stories have the power to save us: A neurological framework for the im-
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Perspective Open Access

Stories Have the Power to Save us: A Neurological Framework for the
Imperative to Tell Stories
Bem Le Hunte1* and Jan A Golembiewski2
1University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
2 Schizophrenia Research Institute, Australia
*Corresponding author: Bem Le Hunte, Associate Professor, Bachelors of Creative Intelligence and Innovation, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, Tel: +61
(2) 9385 6355; E-mail: [email protected]
Received date: May 30, 2014, Accepted date: July 21, 2014, Published date: July 28, 2014
Copyright: © 2014 Hunte BL, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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.

Keywords: Storytelling; Empathy; Ipseity; Evolution; Narrative; disadvantage [3,4]. More recent research into the nature of the human
Neuroscience brain pleads an evolutionary advantage to our capacity for narrative.
Central to our evolution has been the development of ‘narrative
Introduction organs,’ which we will discuss below.

When an invented character, fabricated by a writer of fiction, The human brain, above all others, has the most developed ability
reveals a ‘truth,’ sometimes that truth can beg for greater scrutiny. The to extrapolate meaning and implications from stories. Moreover, one
doctor who narrates the novel, There Where the Pepper Grows [1], of the great evolutionary advantages of being human is that we don’t
Benjamin Rahabi, tells the story of his escape from Nazi occupied need to actually live through an event to gain the perspective of
Poland to the welcoming embrace of Calcutta, on the premise that someone else’s experience. We can identify a potentially disastrous or
stories have the power to save us. He does so with the authority of a beneficial event because we can recognise these through story,
physician who has explored the dark edges of human storylines and mythology, recount and other narrative structures describing
the impact they have on the body. The claim that stories have the comparable situations. Moreover, dangers and opportunities don’t
power to save us is audacious, yet it is one that can be validated by have to be identical, as they would have to be for a dog or monkey
neuroscience. This article demonstrates that the brain is hard-wired to (dogs salivate only to the sound of a bell – not the sound of a gong).
process stories in a most fundamental way, indicating the evolutionary Unlike animals, we can infer meaning from metaphors. We can
priority that storytelling has had in human development, and the translate scenarios into our own lives. We can imagine ourselves out of
importance it has in forging a future humanity. our familiar comfort zones into a situation where we are genuinely
feeling threatened, even in a cozy bed with a novel in hand and a
This article considers how human organs are devoted to narrative partner snoring nearby. These are the functions of a storytelling brain,
function. More specifically, it looks at the validity of fictional truth – which have developed over time, as an evolutionary imperative.
the way the human brain uses ‘fictional worlds’ to expand
understanding about the ‘real world’ or phenomenal reality. It gives a Not only does the human brain have this capacity, but it has some
neurological foundation to Kenneth Burke’s notion that literature well-developed neurological mechanisms that have evolved to help us
provides us with ‘equipment for living.’ That stories work as ‘proverbs to store, recall and interpret situations and stories. These are located in
writ large’ – helping us to understand the fundamentals of survival – two parallel sets of organs – the two hippocampi (on the left and right
the workings of cooperation and conflict [2]. sides of the brain), which provide the capacity to store and recall
episodic memory, better known to fiction writers as narrative. They do
Supposing we were to treat the words of the above fictional this by recording and recalling schemata or story nuggets, which are
character, Benjamin Rahabi, as a hypothesis. Is there any way to largely stored in the nearby temporal lobes [5].
explore whether stories have the power to save us or not? Early
thinkers like Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer wrote that the lack Before we speculate on the narrative function of the left and right
of ability to adapt to events puts a species at an evolutionary hippocampi, we should do so within the context of scholarship on the
differences between the two. McGilchrist argues that the left side of the

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Citation: Hunte BL, Golembiewski JA (2014) Stories Have the Power to Save us: A Neurological Framework for the Imperative to Tell Stories.
Arts Social Sci J 5: 73. doi:10.4172/2151-6200.1000073

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brain is used for processing focused intention [6]. He describes a bird of the protagonist, as if they were their own – as if they themselves
using its left brain to look for seed [7]. The left hippocampus stores were being chased around Paris by an albino Corpus Dei monk! All
and recalls smaller, less abstract narrative nuggets. It’s the narrative the time, the contextual ipseity that resides in the right amygdala
that’s concerned with the functional and physical plane rather than the would remind the reader that they are sitting in the comfort and
metaphysical plane. In other words, the left hippocampus is more security of their own home.
tightly focused on what is going on right now – the so-called realities
The contrast of what we would describe as dual ipseity (I’m in the
of a situation – the narrow context of the story. How is that bird going
action, yet observing it) has been recognised by many thinkers.
to get the seed? How is a character going to find her long lost brother
Scholars as early as Aristotle, writing about catharsis, explained how
who was given up years ago for adoption? Which physical location
tragedy served to purge the audience of similar emotions [13]. Kant
would characters go to if they were seeking spiritual enlightenment?
observed how the overwhelming experience of awe is moderated by
[8].
the knowledge that we are actually safe [14].
In contrast, McGilchrist [7] asserts that the right side of the brain
The ability to locate oneself in a narrative is an essential element
is used for processing global attention. The bird uses the right brain to
of empathy. If one cannot feel the heartbeat of the protagonist as one’s
look out for broader context and circumstances, such as danger. The
own, then either the author is implicated (for distancing the reader –
right hippocampus stores and processes the meta-narrative in which
perhaps through experimental or meta-fictive devices, such as those
every story has to take place. In other words, what this story means on
used by Bertolt Brecht [15]) or the reader may be defined as someone
a grander scale. The right hippocampus stores and recalls the notions
who has lower capacity for empathy.
of time, place and setting – the context of the story rather than
narrative particulars – as well as the grand themes [9]. At the same Neurological studies on empathy typically focus on the Theory of
time, it allows the reader to ponder over the bigger issues – the themes Mind (TOM), which outlines the capacity of one individual to
of the novel – and locate themselves in those themes. For example, if comprehend and relate to another person’s emotional state [11]. In the
someone is reading Animal Farm [10], they will understand the terms that we’re discussing here, the Theory of Mind can only be
analogy between the governance of the animal farm and the constructed if there is sufficient dual ipseity to have a sense of ‘I’ (right
corruption of real life political elites. The ability to contextualise and brain) as well as a sense of ‘I am transferred into the experience of
step outside an immediate narrative, into an allegorical theme or another’ (left brain). This ability to understand another person’s ‘I-
metanarrative, gives the reader a sense of perspective – even distance – ness’ is interesting. We can’t say whether this comes from fiction or
on story. from socialisation, but either way it is this mechanism that allows us to
empathise with each other, as well as with fictional protagonists. The
In terms of narrative, one story is nested in another and both
very fact that Theory of Mind can be applied to real people as well as
aspects of the brain contribute to a single picture. Similarly, in fiction,
fictional people means that on a profound level, fiction provides an
these two aspects of story are fully integrated in a seamless fashion
equally ‘real’ milieu for the human brain to develop emotionally and
within a single narrative structure. The reader absorbs a grand theme
express its full humanity.
(right brain), whilst observing the purely functional movements of
characters in a fictional setting (left brain). If the healthy mind organises narrative around a sense of ‘I-ness’
or ipseity, then a mind that doesn’t is declaratively unhealthy.
Intersecting with the hippocampi are the amygdalae, a paired set
Neuroscientists Louis Sass and Josef Parnass propose that this loss of
of organs that sit directly against the hippocampi. These moderate the
self is a neglected, but fundamental feature of schizophrenia [16].
sense of ipseity – the location of the ‘I’ or ‘me’ in any particular story.
Certainly, the loss of ipseity is characterised by the most extreme and
The amygdalae are instrumental in creating a sense of whether or not
troublesome cases of schizophrenia. The grueling first person account
we are involved in the story. As such, they are key processors of
of schizophrenia by Clara Kean, recounts a time of complete loss of
emotion [11].
‘global’ self. Even though the ipseity of mundane awareness remained,
Once again, the right and left amygdalae correspond with the global her sense of self was completely lost. “The real ‘me’ is not here any
picture of the right brain and the specificity of the left brain. On a more. I am disconnected, disintegrated, diminished. Everything I
grand scale, and the grand scale is what is moderated by the right experience is through a dense fog… It was not even my own distress—
hemisphere, the right amygdala gives the reader contextual awareness I was totally separated from myself, not knowing what action I was
– if they are reading a thriller, it allows them to think, “I am not at risk. taking” [17]. Schizophrenia appears to cause underactive amygdalae –
I am reading a novel.” on both sides of the brain, but particularly on the right – perhaps
explaining why those suffering are unable to locate themselves in their
The left amygdala, simultaneously, tells us whether the story has
‘story’ [18].
any direct effect on us as individuals, right now – the prosaic reality.
It’s the organ that exerts the power of immediacy and imminence. The In contrast, in disorders that feature overactive amygdalae, such
ipseity – or sense that this concerns ‘me’ (the vicarious experience) – as in affective paranoia, patients find it hard to relate to others,
locates the audience in the anguish of the present circumstances (albeit primarily because they are manically fixated on their own personal
via the experiences of the protagonist). In literary terms, it allows us to ‘story’ and they transfer their ‘character’ into every conceivable
plant a personal perspective into the story as if it were our story. This scenario. Patients often find it very hard not to believe that every story
type of ipseity allows us to watch the drama unfold while sitting on the concerns them, as a central protagonist. A classic example is the story
shoulder of the protagonist. Directors like Spielberg actually film from of Chadwick, a schizoaffective patient who perceived radio and
the shoulder of the protagonist to get this sense of identification – the television commentators speaking to him personally, as if they were
left amygdala telling the audience “this directly concerns me.” part of his internal narrative. “I listened to the radio ‘for messages’ a
great deal in the summer of 1979” [19]. Balanced amygdalae are
In a page-turner such as the Da Vinci Code [12], the reader is
essential for understanding others, as demonstrated in many Theory of
required to surrender the left amygdala to directly experience the trials

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Citation: Hunte BL, Golembiewski JA (2014) Stories Have the Power to Save us: A Neurological Framework for the Imperative to Tell Stories.
Arts Social Sci J 5: 73. doi:10.4172/2151-6200.1000073

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Mind studies. In this context, Chadwick says, “I had very little capacity Less developed animals have smaller or even non-existent frontal
to integrate thought and feeling,” and that, “my gist and context lobes. This means they have considerably less ability to abstract
processing were poor…I would often be accused of being tactless, themselves from the narrative of nature, or the simple narratives of
cheeky, offbeat, saying inappropriate things [20].” reality. The bird referred to earlier, eating seed, doesn’t have a choice
other than to use their right hemisphere to look out for danger and
In cases of both affective and non-affective psychoses, there is
mates, and use the left to look out for seed. Humans have the ability to
ample evidence to suggest that the coupling of the amygdalae (the I-
put all of those detailed concerns on hold and devote themselves to
ness), with the sense of story in the hippocampi, has gone askew. Too
more abstract activities, for large lengths of time even – perhaps even
much or too little ipseity both seem to be problematic, as if there is
long enough to read War and Peace [22]. Humans even have the
some kind of sweet spot in between, where safety of observation can be
capacity to put aside their hunger in order to pander to abstraction. An
combined with the terror of absorption – where there is enough ipseity
animal’s sense of ipseity, on the other hand, is constantly channeled
to empathise, but not so much that personal concerns override those
towards the most basic needs – there is little capacity for such
of the fictional protagonist.
abstraction.
A sensitive balance between observer and participant is required
Storytelling, then, is essential to the way we construct our humanity.
to promote engagement with story. Too much observer and there is no
It’s also vital to our study of the future (as there is no sense of future
longer any ‘fictional reality.’ Too much participant and the story
without a sense of a past – and perhaps this explains our fascination as
becomes scarily real – the vortex of story has swallowed the reader in
a species for the study of history). Storytelling is central to humanity
the telling of the tale. The well-balanced work of fiction (not to
because it is through narrative that we learn about ourselves and
mention, the well balanced life story) requires a type of neural balance
prepare ourselves for the future in an evolutionary sense. But here’s
that has not received much in the way of scholarly attention in healthy
what’s interesting: we don’t only learn from ‘truth’ that is verifiable.
individuals.
We learn equally, and potentially even more, from fiction. In words
In an evolutionary sense, this balance has been thousands of years attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson, ‘fiction reveals truth that reality
in the making, which takes us back to our central premise that stories obscures.’ The truth that literature provides does not need to prove
have the power to save us. Stories serve an important function in our itself in any empirical way, except in the sense that this truth resonates
lives, and stories are generated by our brains. Our brains turn the with the reader’s sense of truth. And this, in turn, becomes a point of
random nature of events and string these into meaningful narrative. reference: a story nugget that is stored in the temporal lobes, to emerge
Stories are all about what directly impinges on our humanity. We see as insight and revelation in the context of real life. These nuggets, in
the world in terms of story, and this creates the world we see. In other turn, become parts of new stories, and together the metanarrative of
words, the world becomes full of stories – sometimes they are our own human culture spins a half-real, half-fictional reality. In the words of
and sometimes they belong to others, but we recognise these stories David Wilson, the narratives ‘that prove most innately satisfying
and follow them with deep fascination, which must have been the spread and become culture.’ When we search only for verifiable ‘truth’
evolutionary foundation of empathy. As Aristotle points out, in a great we miss a historically rich and complete source of data that forms the
tragedy like Oedipus Rex, the audience can identify that there is a basis of our humanity [23]. Truth is to be found in empathy, and it is
disaster looming, and regardless is hooked on seeing it unfold. Yet if the empathy in storytelling that Benjamin Rahabi is referring to when
this tragedy were to happen in real life, probably few would want to he states that ‘stories have the power to save us.’
watch it.
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Arts Social Sci J 5: 73. doi:10.4172/2151-6200.1000073

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