--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As Peret asserts, the value of such…" description: "\"“As Peret asserts, the value of such stories resides in the fact that they respond to direct social necessity but in a way that is not obvious in a soc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/michael-richardson-34109_imagination_as-peret-asserts-the-value-of-such-stori_2349407.jpg" --- # As Peret asserts, the value of such stories resides in the… ![“As Peret asserts, the value of such stories resides in the fact that they respond to direct social necessity but in a way that is not obvious in a society dominated by what is utilitarian and functional. Rather they represent a natural surplus of imaginative abundance that may confound or…” quote by Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/michael-richardson-34109_imagination_as-peret-asserts-the-value-of-such-stori_2349407.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/michael-richardson-34109_imagination_as-peret-asserts-the-value-of-such-stori_2349407.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/michael-richardson-34109_imagination_as-peret-asserts-the-value-of-such-stori_2349407.jpg) > ““As Peret asserts, the value of such stories resides in the fact that they respond to direct social necessity but in a way that is not obvious in a society dominated by what is utilitarian and functional. Rather they represent a natural surplus of imaginative abundance that may confound or reinforce the way we perceive the world, but which never does so in a simple way. Even though they may have no direct social use, they nonetheless embody the actual state of real relations between people.”” [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stories fulfill social needs beyond utilitarian purposes, offering imaginative surplus that shapes perception in complex ways. **In simple terms:** Stories meet hidden social needs and affect how we see the world. Key Takeaway Value imaginative narratives beyond practical use. Themes culture imagination perception social need Mood reflective critical Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - education - media analysis - community storytelling - policy making Key Concepts surplus complexity symbolic meaning Questions to Reflect On - How do narratives influence societal values? - When can imagination become a hindrance? A Different Perspective Stories may be misinterpreted or co-opted for propaganda. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Surrealism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrealism/) [Utilitarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utilitarian/) ## Related quotes > [I kick off every monthly team meeting with 'core value stories' - team members stand up and recognize how another team member exemplified a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-hyman/i-kick-off-every-monthly-team-meeting-with-core-value-stories-team/) [Jennifer Hyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-hyman/) > [By the sheer act of writing, we are trying to place value on the stories that we're invested in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/by-the-sheer-act-of-writing-we-are-trying-to-place-value-on-the/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [“Stop thinking about content as the endgame and consider that the true value is the stories you tell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-joel/stop-thinking-about-content-as-the-endgame-and-consider-that-the-true/) [Mitch Joel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-joel/) > [Two attempts have been made in the world to found social life: the one was upon religion, and the other was upon social necessity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/two-attempts-have-been-made-in-the-world-to-found-social-life-the-one/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [Compassion will no longer be seen as a spiritual luxury for a contemplative few; rather it will be viewed as a social necessity for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duane-elgin/compassion-will-no-longer-be-seen-as-a-spiritual-luxury-for-a/) [Duane Elgin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duane-elgin/) > [Beauty is a social necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-goldsmith/beauty-is-a-social-necessity/) [James Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-goldsmith/) > [“As long as necessity is socially dreamed, dreaming will remain a social necessity. The spectacle is the bad dream of a modern society in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-debord/as-long-as-necessity-is-socially-dreamed-dreaming-will-remain-a/) [Guy Debord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-debord/) > [The invocation of social necessity should alert us. It contains the seeds for Marx's critique of political economy as well as for his dissection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/the-invocation-of-social-necessity-should-alert-us-it-contains-the/) [David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/) > [“In this stillness that is at the same time movement, in this darkness that is at the same time light, change is found not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/in-this-stillness-that-is-at-the-same-time-movement-in-this-darkness/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“Surrealism also refuses the representation of reality: reality can only be; its existence proves its reality. Fiction thereby becomes impossible or is, by definition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/surrealism-also-refuses-the-representation-of-reality-reality-can/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“In our modern world, this elemental quality of storytelling is denied. We live today in a world in which everything has its place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/in-our-modern-world-this-elemental-quality-of-storytelling-is-denied/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“The real importance of automatism lay in the fact that it led to a different relation between the artist and the creative act. Where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/the-real-importance-of-automatism-lay-in-the-fact-that-it-led-to-a/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“By giving words the latitude she does, (Marianne) Van Hirtum emphasizes their contagious qualities: they become almost like viruses, with which it is necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/by-giving-words-the-latitude-she-does-marianne-van-hirtum-emphasizes/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [Surrealism, then, neither aims to subvert realism, as does the fantastic, nor does it try to transcend it. It looks for different means by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/surrealism-then-neither-aims-to-subvert-realism-as-does-the-fantastic/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“Equally, the surrealists consider words as witnesses of life acting in a direct way in human affairs. To use words properly it was necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/equally-the-surrealists-consider-words-as-witnesses-of-life-acting-in/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) ## More by Michael Richardson > [Surrealism, then, neither aims to subvert realism, as does the fantastic, nor does it try to transcend it. It looks for different means by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/surrealism-then-neither-aims-to-subvert-realism-as-does-the-fantastic/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“By giving words the latitude she does, (Marianne) Van Hirtum emphasizes their contagious qualities: they become almost like viruses, with which it is necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/by-giving-words-the-latitude-she-does-marianne-van-hirtum-emphasizes/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“In this stillness that is at the same time movement, in this darkness that is at the same time light, change is found not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/in-this-stillness-that-is-at-the-same-time-movement-in-this-darkness/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“Equally, the surrealists consider words as witnesses of life acting in a direct way in human affairs. To use words properly it was necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/equally-the-surrealists-consider-words-as-witnesses-of-life-acting-in/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“The fantastic is in complicity with the realist model, in the claims that realism makes to represent the true face of reality. It points…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/the-fantastic-is-in-complicity-with-the-realist-model-in-the-claims/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“Surrealism also refuses the representation of reality: reality can only be; its existence proves its reality. Fiction thereby becomes impossible or is, by definition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/surrealism-also-refuses-the-representation-of-reality-reality-can/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“In our modern world, this elemental quality of storytelling is denied. We live today in a world in which everything has its place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/in-our-modern-world-this-elemental-quality-of-storytelling-is-denied/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“The real importance of automatism lay in the fact that it led to a different relation between the artist and the creative act. Where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/the-real-importance-of-automatism-lay-in-the-fact-that-it-led-to-a/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“A stubborn refusal of the conditions of 20th Century 'reality', surrealism has denied intransigently and consistently that modern man can live without a sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/a-stubborn-refusal-of-the-conditions-of-20th-century-reality/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“The form of the Gothic novel also implicitly contested the claims of Realism to reflect the world directly by showing how artificial its structure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/the-form-of-the-gothic-novel-also-implicitly-contested-the-claims-of/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“The shifting sands of the world... show how much the surrealists were drawn towards an interrogation of what reality actually is. Unlike fabulists of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/the-shifting-sands-of-the-world-show-how-much-the-surrealists-were/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“Refusing what Adorno called that 'comfort in the uncomfortable' taken by the fantastic, surrealism seeks to reintegrate man into the universe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/refusing-what-adorno-called-that-comfort-in-the-uncomfortable-taken/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) > [“We can sum up the surrealist distinction between 'literature' and 'poetry' by saying where the former is artificial, fictive and elusive, the latter is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/we-can-sum-up-the-surrealist-distinction-between-literature-and/) [Michael Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) [Explore all 14 Michael Richardson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/) ## More Imagination quotes > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Imagination is the greatest nation in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/imagination-is-the-greatest-nation-in-the-world/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I like fantasy, but I don't live and breathe fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-like-fantasy-but-i-don-t-live-and-breathe-fantasy/) [Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/) > [While the world of reality has its limits, the world of your imagination is without boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/while-the-world-of-reality-has-its-limits-the-world-of-your/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Edgy is fine - I'm not a prude by any stretch of the imagination - but what's wrong with a good ol' belly laugh?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/edgy-is-fine-i-m-not-a-prude-by-any-stretch-of-the-imagination-but/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [With VR, we have this same vision, which is create this ultimate platform for sharing your imagination. Our huge community of 300,000 developers creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baszucki/with-vr-we-have-this-same-vision-which-is-create-this-ultimate/) [David Baszucki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baszucki/) > [I like the idea of letting the music do its own work and the stories being more expressionful - if that's a word -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-flynn/i-like-the-idea-of-letting-the-music-do-its-own-work-and-the-stories/) [Johnny Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-flynn/) [Browse all 9,060 Imagination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As Peret asserts, the value of such stories resides in the fact that they respond to direct social necessity but in a way that is not obvious in a society dominated by what is utilitarian and functional. Rather they represent a natural surplus of imaginative abundance that may confound or reinforce the way we perceive the world, but which never does so in a simple way. Even though they may have no direct social use, they nonetheless embody the actual state of real relations between people.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Richardson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/as-peret-asserts-the-value-of-such-stories-resides-in-the-fact-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Imagination" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/as-peret-asserts-the-value-of-such-stories-resides-in-the-fact-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/michael-richardson-34109_imagination_as-peret-asserts-the-value-of-such-stori_2349407.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/michael-richardson-34109_imagination_as-peret-asserts-the-value-of-such-stori_2349407.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22f/michael-richardson-34109_imagination_as-peret-asserts-the-value-of-such-stori_2349407.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As Peret asserts, the value of such stories resides in the fact that they respond to direct social necessity…” — Michael Richardson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michael Richardson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richardson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“As Peret asserts, the value of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/as-peret-asserts-the-value-of-such-stories-resides-in-the-fact-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richardson/as-peret-asserts-the-value-of-such-stories-resides-in-the-fact-that/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```