The Truth About Who We Are

"The truth about stories is that that's all we are", according to Thomas King in his book "The Truth About Stories". So begins a compelling tale about stories that rings true. 

Yes, and as I have been insisting in this blog, the truth about people is that our stories are not quite true (NQT).

In particular, we tend to think of our story as past tense. We are the product of some four billion years of unimaginably involved evolution, nine months of complex gestation, many more years of experience in the physical world and the company of society, informed by the accumulated knowledge of our culture which is thousands of years old. Even if you could put that into a story, it wouldn't be who we are. Part of who we are is intentional agents and we are making up the story as we go. The truth about people is that the last page of their story still reads "to be continued". 

And I'm sure there's more to it than that.

I hope you find my stories disconcerting. I do. But waking up from delusion may save the day and so be worth the discomfort. Here is how to proceed. Take something that is superficially true. Whittle away at it until it looks like a better fit for reality. The revised story may be truer; and it may itself be not quite true. Ask your friends what they think and together write the next chapter.

STORY: human beings have intrinsic value unlike other living things which are useful resources or pets or pests or simply irrelevant.
NQT (not quite true): the biosphere is a self-regulating community of diverse elements and living things, while humans are invasive pests who think it's all about them.

STORY: we are the smartest things around.
    NQT: what we know is the tiny tip of a huge unknown iceberg; what we know best is how to barge ahead and get things wrong.

STORY: we can solve our problems with technology; we just need to take control and improve things.
    NQT: human activities often have unexpected deleterious effects; we need to control ourselves and fix our mistakes.

STORY: we are at the pinnacle of evolution.
     NQT: we have evolved in a limited niche during a brief geological era; extinction awaits.

STORY: we would be foolish not to make full use of whatever the world provides.
     NQT: when we have used everything up, that is The End of the story, and nobody will be there to care who is foolish.

STORY: I am one of nearly 8 billion people, and my story can't make a difference.
     NQT: The truth about stories is that that's all we are; we can change the story and be the difference.

What do you think?