“Fiction reveals
― Ralph Waldo Emersontruth that reality obscures.”
We could leave it there and be done, or we could parse that out a bit more.
Jordan Peterson, Sam Harris and Brett Weinstein discussed the idea of a metaphorical truth. They defined it as a notion that is literally false but conveys benefits to the person who acts as if it were true. Their example
![](https://i0.wp.com/danpouliot.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/heros-2.jpg?resize=750%2C224)
So myths, stories from religious traditions, and even modern movies like The Lion King, use the story as a foil to convey a deeper truth that non-fiction would have a harder time getting at.