According to Yuval Noah Harari in his book, Homo Deus, human beings make decisions based on the "conflict" between two separate inner entities - the "experiencing self" and the "narrating self." The experiencing self operates in real time but it is the narrating self, which later retrieves experiences and turns them into the stories we like to tell ourselves and others. The experiencing self may well be working hard when you walk to the baker early in the morning but when you get home, bread under arm, your narrating self takes over when you relate your experiences to your partner and you select, cut, exaggerate and embellish.
In a nutshell, the experiencing self experiences an emotional state in the moment while the narrating self narrates the memory of the experienced moment. Studies show that there is often a huge difference between the experiencing and narrating entities. Why is this?
Perhaps, because the narrating self will take the path of least resistance, refrain from remembering everything and focus on its core competence of peak moments and the end results. This may explain how women, after experiencing excruciating pain during childbirth, will decide to go through the experience again. This is not to suggest that the pain was forgotten but that women evaluated the experience as positive. What has happened here? One study suggests that the memory of childbirth is altered by the narrating self. This "self" sets to work by censoring the worst moments and filing the memory away as one with a happy ending.
This concept might explain why our memories are so dear to us. It might also explain why our narrating self takes centre stage when we make those big decisions, for example: career, wife, children and so on. The narrating self will see to it that our decisions are in line with who we see ourselves to be so that our lives are consistent and meaningful.
We can observe the narrating self at work in the theatre. Writers of opera and musicals recognise/d the importance of peak moments and end results. Just think of "Les Miserables," its musical peaks and the repetition of their themes in the stirring finale. Further, I would argue that the theme of appearance and reality is similar to the experiencing self and the narrating self - these two sides of human nature bound up in one body, the body of Dorian Gray, Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde or of Macbeth.
These are other fascinating questions to ask. Do today's "experiencing selves" design photographs or perfectly posed Facebook pictures in order to create perfect future memories? If this is the case, then the act of planning photos anticipates the future and how it fits into the spectrum of present and past identity. Food and inspiration for consideration by any writer.
Comments