Figure 2

. . . Without effective story traditions humans would soon default to the social and psychological circumstances of the great apes. As if to preclude this possibility of backsliding, various ancillary strategies have developed within story traditions to maintain a high degree of consensus about the narrative core. Thus a mature cultural tradition may be seen to have a characteristic structure with an integrated narrative at core and various supportive strategies at the outside, as shown in Figure 2

A brief explanatory note on each of these ancillary components of story traditions will be sufficient.

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Dinesh ^club

Institutional : The intellectual domain is normally tended by philosophy and/or theology. These disciplines help to maintain the integrity of the story to clarify its meaning. They also help to defend the plausibility of the story against both internal and external critics

Aesthetic : Most individuals are drawn toward tangible expressions of the narrative core. Thus most traditions have developed characteristic art forms (e.g., painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and poetry) to give the narrative an objective presence.

Experiential : In many story traditions individuals are encouraged to seek some sort of profound religious experience. Such experiences are important because they typically provide personal validation for religious beliefs.

Ritual : Virtually every story tradition has ritual practicds that make it possible to relate the particular events of life to the narrative core. The point of ritual is to make a connection between the events of daily life (positive and negative, routine and extraordinary, personal and communal) and the timeless events of the story. In this way one apprehends the universal significance of everyday life. When individuals are able to make these connections they take ownership of the story.

Once again, the points of these various components of story traditions is to establish and maintain a broad cultural consensus regarding the features of the narrative core. When these strategies are effective there will be little question about the intellectual plausibility and the moral relevance of the story. While the influence of these various ancillary strategies helps to safeguard a cultural tradition from defaulting into simian existence, they make it equally difficult to effect radical progressive changes. Minor adjustments may be allowed, but anything approaching a transformation of consciousness will encounter suspicion and resistance. Radical changes become possible only when the ancillary mechanism lose their effectiveness and the prevailing wisdom of a culture begins to look implausible and irrelevant. . . . Page 28

3 years ago. Edited 3 years ago.

Dinesh ^club

4 months ago.

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