"Big Story" refers to the Big Story
that cultures tell that answer the basic Big Questions,
such as, Where do we come from? Why are we here? Where are we
going? How should I act? among others.
These Big Stories present the basic language
and imagery that a people uses to make itself
present, e.g., in how it speaks of and imagines the stranger, the
other, the alien. Or, how men view and relate to women. Or, how humans
see themselves in respect to gods, divinities, etc.
Big Stories include myths, sagas,
epics, hypotheses, theories, historical narratives, fables, worldviews
and other literary forms. Also, ceremonies, performances, rituals,
disciplines, practices, artifacts, songs, hymns, symbols, and other
sensory devices and tools that express the key values (intellectual
and emotional) of the Big Story, itself.
A Big Story has a story of origin
that presents how an individual within a culture is to go about understanding
and interpreting the world. For example, in respect to the Scientism
Big Story the individual sees himself as a reasoning mind that has
evolved over millennia from an original Big Bang wherein inorganic
life eventually gives rise to organic life forms.
