Pan Narrans Edulis - or the importance of story

[finncullen]

Stories..

For me at least, and I think for more people than care to admit it, stories are a potent force.

Understand the stories that people tell themselves about themselves and you will know that person almost completely. Understand the stories that people tell themselves about their society and will will know that culture. And with only a few unhealthy exceptions, no one is the villain in their own story. At worst they are a misunderstood hero forced to make unfortunate choices. Others may tell that story differently of course.

Learn a person’s story - the symbols that have power for them, the themes and motifs that inspire them - and you have the key to that person’s soul. You’ll have an insight into their motivations, their emotions, their decision making process, their self-image, their likely actions. Find a way to write yourself into that story.. and you own them.

It’s a scary thought, terrifying, especially for someone who pushes out so many of his own stories into the (semi) public domain of the Internet. Here I am, pay a penny and see what you can see. No refunds.

We’re none of us Homo Sapiens sapiens you see, no matter what the arrogance of classification tells us. Not wise (or even double-wise) except by the most optimistic definition of the term, and homo is simply elitism, attaching a new label to our species because we like to think of ourselves as separate.. though we are close enough to the higher primates that an objective observer would classify us with them. Pan Narrans edulis is nearer the mark. Mr Pratchett coined the first two thirds of that - we’re not the Wise Man we are the Storytelling Chimp. Edulis simply means edible and I defy anyone to contradict that after an hour or two with an angry tiger, or one of Dr Lecter’s proteges. That’s what raises us above the other apes you see- we tell better stories of our past, our position and our potential future.

I need a banana.