--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fiction isn't bad. It is vital. Without…" description: "\"“Fiction isn't bad. It is vital. Without commonly accepted stories about things like money, states or corporations, no complex human society can functi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/yuval-noah-harari-100_fiction_fiction-isn-t-bad-it-is-vital-without-co_1836867.jpg" --- # Fiction isn't bad. It is vital. Without commonly accepted… ![“Fiction isn't bad. It is vital. Without commonly accepted stories about things like money, states or corporations, no complex human society can function. We can't play football unless everyone believes in the same made-up rules, and we can't enjoy the benefits of markets and courts without similar…” quote by Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/yuval-noah-harari-100_fiction_fiction-isn-t-bad-it-is-vital-without-co_1836867.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/yuval-noah-harari-100_fiction_fiction-isn-t-bad-it-is-vital-without-co_1836867.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ff/yuval-noah-harari-100_fiction_fiction-isn-t-bad-it-is-vital-without-co_1836867.jpg) > ““Fiction isn't bad. It is vital. Without commonly accepted stories about things like money, states or corporations, no complex human society can function. We can't play football unless everyone believes in the same made-up rules, and we can't enjoy the benefits of markets and courts without similar make-believe stories. But the stories are just tools. They should not become our goals or yardsticks. When we forget that they are mere fiction, we lose touch with reality.”” [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fiction creates shared narratives that enable complex societies; but treating stories as truth can distort reality. **In simple terms:** Stories help societies function, but must stay as stories. Key Takeaway Remember stories are tools, not truths. Themes society fiction shared narratives reality risk Mood critical reflective Type philosophical cautionary When to use this quote - education - political discourse - media analysis - cultural critique - legal frameworks Key Concepts narrative construction social cohesion mythmaking Questions to Reflect On - What stories shape our institutions today? - How can we distinguish useful narratives from harmful myths? A Different Perspective Overreliance on narratives can blind societies to factual evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Isn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-isn-388010/) [Fiction Lose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-lose-2318416/) [Mere Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mere-fiction-2318415/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Play football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play-football/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“But stories are just tools. They should not become our goals or our yardsticks. When we forget that they are mere fiction, we lose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/but-stories-are-just-tools-they-should-not-become-our-goals-or-our/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [Science fiction is about what could be but isn't; fantasy is about what couldn't be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/science-fiction-is-about-what-could-be-but-isn-t-fantasy-is-about/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Fiction that isn't an author's personal adventure into the frightening or the unknown isn't worth writing for anything but money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/fiction-that-isn-t-an-author-s-personal-adventure-into-the/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [I'm really not interested in writing about science at all. I mean, I try to get the information right, the details right. But fiction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-iagnemma/i-m-really-not-interested-in-writing-about-science-at-all-i-mean-i/) [Karl Iagnemma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-iagnemma/) > [“Diego considered while he stroked the thick ruff of fur around Finn’s neck. "Fiction isn’t lying. Everyone knows it’s imaginary. It’s not as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angel-martinez/diego-considered-while-he-stroked-the-thick-ruff-of-fur-around-finn-s/) [Angel Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angel-martinez/) > [In Britain, when the working class are summoned for fiction, it's 'isn't it a shame, isn't it a pity, isn't it awful, the terribly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/in-britain-when-the-working-class-are-summoned-for-fiction-it-s-isn-t/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) > [That's what fiction is about, isn't it, the selective transforming of reality? The twisting of it to bring out its essence?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/that-s-what-fiction-is-about-isn-t-it-the-selective-transforming-of/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“Historical fiction isn't history in the conventional sense and shouldn't be judged as such. The best historical novels are loyal to history, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-aaron/historical-fiction-isn-t-history-in-the-conventional-sense-and/) [Daniel Aaron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-aaron/) > [I just think that fiction that isn't exploring what it means to be human today isn't art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-just-think-that-fiction-that-isn-t-exploring-what-it-means-to-be/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Language does not always have to wear a tie and lace-up shoes. The object of fiction isn't grammatical correctness but to make the reader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/language-does-not-always-have-to-wear-a-tie-and-lace-up-shoes-the/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The object of fiction isn't grammatical correctness but to make the reader welcome and then tell a story… Writing is seduction. Good talk is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-object-of-fiction-isn-t-grammatical-correctness-but-to-make-the/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Fiction isn't made by scraping the bones of topicality for the last shreds and sinews, to be processed into mechanically recovered prose. Like journalism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/fiction-isn-t-made-by-scraping-the-bones-of-topicality-for-the-last/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [“The trouble with mimetic fiction isn’t that you can tell what’s going to happen (I defy anyone to guess what’s going to happen in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/the-trouble-with-mimetic-fiction-isn-t-that-you-can-tell-what-s-going/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [The key of writing fiction isn't just to remove something that the reader or listener can easily imagine. It's not a matter of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-turchi/the-key-of-writing-fiction-isn-t-just-to-remove-something-that-the/) [Peter Turchi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-turchi/) > [When we talk about 9/11 and 26/11 - which is the shorthand for the Mumbai attacks in 2008 - we're talking about the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-mahajan/when-we-talk-about-9-11-and-26-11-which-is-the-shorthand-for-the/) [Karan Mahajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-mahajan/) ## More by Yuval Noah Harari > [“For similar reasons, archaic humans did not initiate any revolutions. As far as we can tell, changes in social patterns, the invention of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-similar-reasons-archaic-humans-did-not-initiate-any-revolutions/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Today the main source of wealth is knowledge. And whereas you can conquer oil fields through war, you cannot acquire knowledge that way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/today-the-main-source-of-wealth-is-knowledge-and-whereas-you-can/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“How do you cause people to believe in an imagined order such as Christianity, democracy or capitalism? First, you never admit that the order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/how-do-you-cause-people-to-believe-in-an-imagined-order-such-as/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [I think the basic thing that happened is we have lost our story. Humans think in stories, and we try to make sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/i-think-the-basic-thing-that-happened-is-we-have-lost-our-story/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas chimpanzees spend five hours a day chewing raw food, a single hour suffices for people eating cooked food. The advent of cooking enabled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-chimpanzees-spend-five-hours-a-day-chewing-raw-food-a-single/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“the Chinese air-purification market is booming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-chinese-air-purification-market-is-booming/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas liberalism merged with the milder versions of nationalism to protect the unique experiences of each human community, evolutionary humanists such as Hitler identified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-liberalism-merged-with-the-milder-versions-of-nationalism-to/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Corporations, money and nations exist only in our imagination. We invented them to serve us; why do we find ourselves sacrificing our lives in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/corporations-money-and-nations-exist-only-in-our-imagination-we/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Small children in affluent societies often dislike showering, and it takes them years of education and parental discipline to adopt this supposedly attractive custom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/small-children-in-affluent-societies-often-dislike-showering-and-it/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Ever more scholars see cultures as a kind of mental infection or parasite, with humans as its unwitting host. Organic parasites, such as viruses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/ever-more-scholars-see-cultures-as-a-kind-of-mental-infection-or/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Soviet Communism was a fanatical and missionary religion. A devout Communist could not be a Christian or a Buddhist, and was expected to spread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/soviet-communism-was-a-fanatical-and-missionary-religion-a-devout/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas religion asks us to believe in something, money asks us to believe that other people believe in something”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-religion-asks-us-to-believe-in-something-money-asks-us-to/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Terrorists are like a fly that tries to destroy a china shop. The fly is so weak that it cannot budge even a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/terrorists-are-like-a-fly-that-tries-to-destroy-a-china-shop-the-fly/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Yet what happens if the greedy shoemaker increases his profits by paying employees less and increasing their work hours? The standard answer is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/yet-what-happens-if-the-greedy-shoemaker-increases-his-profits-by/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“A natural order is a stable order. There is no chance that gravity will cease to function tomorrow, even if people stop believing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/a-natural-order-is-a-stable-order-there-is-no-chance-that-gravity/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) [Explore all 1,200 Yuval Noah Harari quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## More Fiction quotes > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) [Phil Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-hogan/) > [The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that-it-s-totally-wide-open-but-it/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) [Edward Einhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-einhorn/) > [Fiction is a way of exploring possibilities present but undreamt of in the living of a single life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/fiction-is-a-way-of-exploring-possibilities-present-but-undreamt-of/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [I love writing fiction and can do it anywhere - I once even missed a flight because I was so engrossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/i-love-writing-fiction-and-can-do-it-anywhere-i-once-even-missed-a/) [Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/) > [“The fiction will seek the real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coheed-and-cambria/the-fiction-will-seek-the-real/) [Coheed and Cambria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coheed-and-cambria/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/inspiration-comes-from-so-many-sources-music-other-fiction-the-non/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“His hands on my waist he gently pulled me n embrace. I could feel his breath on my face our lips were about to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-eglinger/his-hands-on-my-waist-he-gently-pulled-me-n-embrace-i-could-feel-his/) [Nicole Eglinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-eglinger/) > [In early drafts, one of the trickiest things for me to do was to realize that the techniques and devices that make readable and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-rooney/in-early-drafts-one-of-the-trickiest-things-for-me-to-do-was-to/) [Kathleen Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-rooney/) > [I don't think it's always a sign of respect for persons (inside or outside of fiction) to pretend to be able to represent, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-think-it-s-always-a-sign-of-respect-for-persons-inside-or/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Metafiction says something. It has to do with taking a large fiction itself and writing within it; that kind of self-reflecting writing that emerges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/metafiction-says-something-it-has-to-do-with-taking-a-large-fiction/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) [Browse all 7,410 Fiction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Fiction isn't bad. It is vital. Without commonly accepted stories about things like money, states or corporations, no complex human society can function. We can't play football unless everyone believes in the same made-up rules, and we can't enjoy the benefits of markets and courts without similar make-believe stories. But the stories are just tools. They should not become our goals or yardsticks. 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