PDF Summary:The Storytelling Animal, by Jonathan Gottschall

Stories are everywhere—in books, films, conversations, and even in how we understand ourselves. But why are humans so drawn to narratives? In The Storytelling Animal, Jonathan Gottschall explores how stories shape our beliefs, behaviors, and identities. He argues that our minds are wired to create and consume narratives, even when they distort reality or lead us astray.

Gottschall examines how stories function on both individual and societal levels. You'll learn why we remember events inaccurately to paint ourselves in a better light, how fiction influences our emotions and moral development, and why narratives—from religious texts to conspiracy theories—have real-world consequences. This guide reveals the power of storytelling and its role in making us human.

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The Power of Story: Effects on Self and Society

Gottschall thinks narratives encourage ethical behavior and reinforce moral values by casting negative judgment on actions that don't benefit society and lauding prosocial actions. We learn that if we behave like the protagonists, we’ll be rewarded like them, and if we behave like the antagonists, we’ll be punished like them. Spending so much time in make-believe places where good is rewarded and bad is punished reinforces our moralistic bias.

(Shortform note: In Complex TV, Jason Mittell argues that many contemporary television series center on antiheroes—protagonists who repeatedly engage in actions that don’t benefit society. These characters are often admired and rarely punished, suggesting that not all narratives encourage ethical behavior. This challenges Gottschall’s view that narratives reward prosocial behavior and punish antagonists.)

Next, we’ll explore how stories impact us on an individual level by shaping our identity and affecting our emotions. We’ll also look at how stories shape our society through religious beliefs and fringe theories.

How Narratives Affect Individuals

Self-Authored Narratives & Identity

Gottschall asserts that we create personal narratives that shape our identity. A personal narrative is a tale that encompasses our identity, origins, and the meaning of our lives. These narratives aren’t objective accounts; they’re intentionally composed stories that include selective recollections and interpretations. They aid our understanding of our lives and give us a sense of purpose.

(Shortform note: While Gottschall argues that personal narratives help us understand our lives and give us a sense of purpose, they can also have the opposite effect. In Narrative Means to Therapeutic Ends, Michael White and David Epston explain that when we organize our experiences into a single life tale, we can become trapped in a “problem-saturated” story.)

The Impact of Fiction on Cognition & Emotion

According to Gottschall, fiction impacts our emotions and beliefs. It's a potent VR tool that mimics major human dilemmas, allowing us to identify with the protagonists' challenges and strongly empathize with them. Our minds respond as if their experiences are occurring to us. The repeated activation of neurons when we engage with fictional stimuli fortifies and sharpens the connections in our brain that help us skillfully navigate life’s problems. Fiction also lets us practice our emotional responses to different situations without any actual consequences. This helps us develop our social skills and empathy.

(Shortform note: In Against Empathy, psychologist Paul Bloom argues that narrative-driven empathy can be intensely selective and biased. He contends that our empathy is often directed toward individuals or groups we identify with, while we may remain indifferent or even hostile toward others. This selective empathy can lead to moral decisions that are more harmful than helpful. Bloom's perspective suggests that while fiction can enhance our ability to empathize with protagonists, it may not necessarily lead to broader social skills or genuine compassion for others.)

Gottschall explains that fictional stories are highly moralistic, enabling us to assess bad behavior. Our emotional reaction to a narrative shows our worry about whether both the good and bad characters will receive their just rewards. Stories with fictional elements often moralize and are typically quite traditional. He adds that fiction has likely educated you about the world as much as any other source. The feelings and notions in fictional stories spread easily, and people often think they're more immune to this than they actually are. Fiction seems to have more impact on beliefs than nonfiction does, which attempts to persuade with logic and evidence. Fictional narratives can traumatize us, alter our views on sexuality and aggression, and modify our core values and ethical beliefs.

Violent Media and Aggression

While Gottschall argues that fiction can shape our core values and beliefs, a psychologist and academic researcher has argued that violent entertainment media rarely causes meaningful increases in aggression. In a non-fiction book, the author, a media effects researcher, presents a meta-analysis of studies on the impact of violent video games and movies. He argues that the majority of people are unaffected by violent media, and that the small minority who are affected are already predisposed to aggression. He also criticizes the media for sensationalizing the issue and creating moral panics.

How Stories Affect Society

Gottschall claims that narratives shape religious faith and traditions. Religious narratives are incredibly powerful, influencing how people live their lives, including their diets, clothing, and behavior. Religious beliefs and practices are a fundamental aspect of humanity, found in every society explored by anthropologists or excavated by archaeologists. The major world religions are attracting more followers than they're losing. Over the last hundred years, Europe has shifted toward secularism, but the majority of the globe (including the U.S.) is experiencing a rise in religiosity.

The Rise of Secularism

While Gottschall claims that religiosity is rising in the U.S., more recent data suggests otherwise. In Secular Surge, the authors argue that the U.S. is experiencing a “secular surge,” with the number of religiously unaffiliated adults rising from 5% in 1972 to 30% in 2020. This shift is reshaping American politics and culture, bringing the U.S. closer to the secular patterns seen in other developed nations. While global religious populations are still projected to grow, much of this growth is now concentrated in the Global South, where higher fertility rates are driving increases in religious populations.

Gottschall also notes that conspiracy theories are a type of narrative with real-world consequences. They're fictional tales that some individuals accept as true, weaving real and imagined information into a cohesive, emotionally satisfying narrative of reality. They follow the classic narrative structure, with clear problems, heroes, and antagonists. Conspiracy theories provide simple reasons for negative events globally, blaming them on evil people rather than complex societal and historical factors. This makes them comforting because it implies that evil can be combated and defeated. Gottschall points out that theories about conspiracies aren't exclusive to the ignorant or mentally ill. They're a product of the narrative mind's urge to find meaning in experience and are often created and spread by educated people.

(Shortform note: In some cases, the term “conspiracy theory” is used to describe a real conspiracy. For example, the Watergate scandal was a real conspiracy that was uncovered by journalists and congressional investigators. In her book Real Enemies, historian Kathryn Olmsted argues that the Watergate scandal was a real conspiracy that was uncovered by journalists and congressional investigators. She notes that the evidence for the conspiracy was overwhelming, including the White House tapes, the testimony of former Nixon aides, and the convictions of several high-ranking officials. Olmsted argues that the Watergate scandal was a turning point in American history, as it showed that the government was capable of engaging in criminal activity and that the press and Congress could hold the government accountable.)

However, they can have actual consequences. For instance, a widespread belief in Africa is that AIDS is a racially motivated fabrication intended to frighten black individuals into using condoms and abstaining from sex, thus enacting a genocide without bloodshed. This belief results in many Africans dying. Timothy McVeigh, characterized as embodying a collection of antigovernment conspiracy beliefs, carried out the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building.

(Shortform note: The author’s examples of the consequences of stories are not all equally valid. For instance, the story of AIDS as a racist population control measure is not a universally held belief in Africa, and it’s not the only story about AIDS that Africans believe. In Mortal Combat, Nicoli Nattrass explains that the stories Africans believe about AIDS are a mix of stories about Western scientists, pharmaceutical companies, local politicians, and traditional healers.)