Story-ing as shared feeling, not isolated words | Benjamin Freud, Ph.D. | 13 Min Read

Story-ing as shared feeling, not isolated words | Benjamin Freud, Ph.D. | 13 Min Read

February 16, 2024

Life is a dance of opposites, each necessary to the other.

—David Orr

In the late nineteenth century, French writer and scholar Georges Polti wrote that all stories can be distilled down to a limited number (36, to be exact) of dramatic situations. In the mid-20th century, Joseph Campbell suggested that all mythic narratives share one fundamental structure, the monomyth (or the “Hero’s Journey”). In the late 20th century, Christopher Booker identified seven basic plots. What is important here isn’t the exact number of different plot types, but rather the realization that we don’t get bored watching, hearing, or reading what are effectively the same storylines. We keep coming back, again and again. 

Storytelling is the most ancient form of human communication: we are physiologically wired to connect through stories. Telling and listening to stories connect teller and listener. The process of storytelling and story listening (let’s call this process “story-ing” to underscore how this is an intra-active process) releases dopamine and oxytocin neurotransmitters, which promote happiness, bonding, and trust. It activates mirror neurons, which lead to greater empathy, and reward pathways, which give a sense of fulfillment. It is a process that allows…

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Benjamin Freud, Ph.D.

Benjamin Freud, Ph.D. is the co-founder of Coconut Thinking, an advisory that supports schools and learning organizations to co-create, co-develop, co-stress test, and co-implement ideas that nurture the conditions for emergent learning. Benjamin is also the Head of Upper School at Green School, Bali. He was previously the Whole School Leader of Learning and Teaching at Prem Tinsulanonda International School in Thailand. He was the Academic Coordinator at Misk Schools, one of the most prestigious and high-profile school in the kingdom. In 2018-2019, he was also the Head of Upper Primary and Middle School at Misk. Prior to this, he was Vice-Principal of the Middle School and High School at the Harbour School in Hong Kong. He holds a Ph.D. in History, an MSc in Education, an MBA, an MA in International Relations, and a BA in International Affairs. Benjamin was born and grew up in Paris, France. He moved to the U.S. when he was 15 and spent 11 years there in different cities before living in the U.K., Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and now Bali, Indonesia. He started his career in consulting for Internet start-ups in Silicon Valley in the late 1990s, working with people whose ambitions were no less than to change the world. This experience had a profound effect on Benjamin's outlook on education, innovation, and entrepreneurship.