6. Darwin understood how biologically active the stories in our social environments are, noting, “Many a Hindoo…has been stirred to the bottom of his soul by having partaken of unclean food.” The same thing eaten unknowingly would cause no reaction, so the story of the food, not the food itself, causes the “the soul shaking...remorse.” Stories configure the emotional reactions expected in our culture and their triggers—perhaps defining a sort of emotional grammar. We physiologically interact with stories, as if they’re real. - bigthink.com