The difference between humans and other animals is that humans can "gossip". Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari explained in his famous work "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind: From Animals to God" that "telling stories" is a cognitive revolution of Homo sapiens, building an imaginary community through virtual concepts. And it is these fictions that give humans weapons and shackles.
The so-called "storytelling" means that humans will make up a lot of "things" that do not exist, including morality, rules, companies, countries, etc. They exist in your mind because you "believe in existence" and become so important because you "value" them. In a word, they are very powerful in your mental illusion. And your body, your parents and children, this mobile phone, that building... these are real existences. Humans do not only live in the real world, but also live in fictional stories, chasing illusions, imprisoning themselves, and having no autonomy in joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.
The number that other animals can integrate is very limited, such as a few or dozens. Although humans are independent individuals, they can gossip and use fictional ideas as weapons to make hundreds of thousands or even millions of people feel that "we" are a whole. Therefore, humans are integrated into various organizations, such as companies, countries, alliances with certain "moral" concepts, and some like-minded people... Let people be screws, work hard willingly, give, endure, and sacrifice. In this regard, Xunzi, a thinker in the Warring States Period of China, called it "group", which integrates and governs the community to achieve collective goals and form social order.
Therefore, humans live in concepts. Some people invent and promote these illusory concepts, so that others are loyal to and care about these concepts, thereby realizing the interests and preferences of the inventors, while others deeply believe that they are doing justice. "Storytelling" itself is neutral. Some of them need to give up personal freedom in order to overcome natural disasters and eliminate fratricide, but many crimes in history have also been carried out under some high-sounding banners. Therefore, fictional concepts are a double-edged sword. They are a weapon for humans to defeat all things, but also a shackle of self-imprisonment.
Lao Tzu said in the Tao Te Ching that "All things return to their roots". All things are rising and developing, but no matter how complicated the evolution process is, they will eventually return to their roots. Therefore, people should not be too persistent, rigid, or trapped in this process, but grasp the essence behind the illusion. Humans "tell stories" to make our lives better. The reality is that this integration and fiction exceeds the physical and mental load of the world and exceeds the minimum standard of necessity, thus backfires on themselves. Humans have built a "big prison" for themselves.
Imprisonment begins with one's own imagination and belief in these
fictional concepts, and jailbreak begins at the moment of enlightenment. People
are being rescued, saving themselves, and saving others, fulfilling their
responsibilities to themselves, and have spare energy to fulfill social
responsibilities. Reality and virtuality, essence and illusion, priorities, are
all clear at a glance, just as it is said in "Zhuangzi: Let the
King": "The true Tao governs the body, its remaining threads form the
country, and its remaining land forms the world."
人类与其他动物的区别，是人类会“八卦”。
以色列历史学者尤瓦尔·赫拉利在其名作《人类简史——从动物到上帝》中阐释，“会讲故事”是智人的认知革命，通过虚拟的概念构建想象的共同体。
而正是这些虚构给了人类以武器和镣铐。
所谓“讲故事”，是指人类会虚构出很多本不存在之“物”，包括道德、规则、公司、国家等等，它们因为你“相信存在”而在你脑海里存在，因为你“重视”才变得如此重要，一句话，它们在你的思维幻象里很牛。
而你的身体、你的父母子女、这部手机、那栋大楼……这些才是真实的存在。
人类并非只活在真实世界里，而是还活在虚构的故事里面，追逐幻象，自我囚禁，喜怒哀乐，不能自主。
其他动物能够整合的数量非常有限，比如几个、几十个。
尽管人类本是一个个独立的自己，但由于人类会“八卦”，会使用虚构观念作为武器，让千百人、亿万人觉得“我们”是一个整体。
所以人类被各种组织整合在了一起，如公司、国家、某种“道义”观念的同盟、一些志趣相投的同类……让人去当螺丝钉，去心甘情愿地卖力，去付出，去忍受，去牺牲。
对此，中国战国时期的思想家荀子称之为“群”，以共同体进行整合和治理，完成集体目标，形成社会秩序。
所以，人类活在观念里面。
一些人发明和宣传这些虚无缥缈的观念，让其他人忠于、在乎于这些观念，从而实现发明人的利益和偏好，而其他人深以为自己在行正义之举。
“讲故事”本身是中性的，有的是为了战胜自然灾害、消弭自相残杀，需要让渡个人自由，但历史上诸多罪恶也在一些冠冕堂皇的旗帜下进行。
是以，虚构概念是一把双刃剑，是人类战胜万物之利器，也是自我囚禁的枷锁。
老子在《道德经》中说“夫物芸芸，各复归其根”。万物都在兴起发展，但无论它的演变过程多么繁杂，最终都要回归本原。
所以，人不要太执着、拘泥、陷入这种过程，而是去把握幻象背后的本质。
人类会“讲故事”，是为了让我们的生活更美好。
现实是这种整合、这种虚构超出了世人的身心负荷，超出了最低标准的必需，从而反噬自己，是人类亲手给自己造了一座“大监狱”。
被囚禁是始于自己想象和相信这些虚构的概念，而越狱也就起于开悟的那一一刻。
人在被救、自救而救他，尽到对自己的责任，有余力再去履行社会责任。
真实和虚拟，本质和幻象，轻重缓急，一目了然，正如《庄子·让王》中所言：“道之真以治身，其绪余以为国家，其土苴以为天下。”
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