These scholars have investigated a number of issues that intersect with narrative theology, including morality, truth. Mcadams 1985 proposed the first full theoretical model of narrative identity and outlined a research agenda for examining content and structural features of life stories. Paul ricoeur was born on february 27, 19 in valence, france. Its organizing concern is how individuals employ narratives to develop and. Charles taylor and paul ricoeur on selfinterpretations and. Personal identity, narrative identity, and selfhood in the thought of paul ricoeur philosophy and social criticism 18 1992, pp. Riceour very usefully describes how narratives, or even a single narrative identity, can readily exist in the imaginary, the mode in which. Ricoeur on time and narrative presents that argument in clear and concise terms, in a way that will be enlightening both to readers new to ricoeur and those who may have felt themselves adrift in the complexities of temps et recit, ricoeurs last major philosophical work. Introduction at the outset of my contribution to this volume, i need to stress that my research interests lie in identity. This is the place of the dialectic between identity idem and identity ipse which arises from the second grammatical trait of soimeme oneself and the ambiguity of the word meme same. Though ricoeur evidendy intends a closely articulated argument, the effect of this volume, like that of the first two, is of a rich misceuany.
Drawing on a vast number of philosophical, historical and sociological works, ricoeurs hermeneutics develops as an invaluable corpus of writings on virtually all the aspects of history and historicity alike. Review edi pucci 1992 philosophy and social criticism 18 2. In 2000, he was awarded the kyoto prize in arts and philosophy for having. Personal identity, narrative identity and selfhood in the thought of paul ricoeur.
Identity in narrative provides a unique view of the identity construction process as shown at a lexical, textual and interactional level. The essays, including three pieces by ricoeur himself, consider this important study, extending and developing. For anyone used to the straightforward arguments of analytic philosophy, i found, the best way to see what ricoeur was doing was to ignore the occasional glimpses of aporia or paradox in the remote dis. This book examines the later work of paul ricoeur, particularly his major work, time and narrative. Time and narrative builds on paul ricoeur s earlier analysis, in the rule of metaphor, of semantic innovation at the level of the sentence. View narrative identity research papers on academia. Philosophers writing on time, too, usually over look the contribution of narrative to a. Each act of communication involves to a greater or lesser extent an act of interpretation and reconfiguration. Ricoeur, paul freud and philosophy essay on interpretation. Ricoeurs theory of narrative as a theory of popular cultural religion. Narrative discourse and identities michael bamberg worcester, ma 1. It is motivated by two recent but seemingly unrelated developments in social theory and. Ricoeur never hesitates to recognize the profound imprint that marcels philosophy left upon him as well as his unique way of practicing and transmitting philosophy 2. Stages of a long philosophical itinerary fonds ricoeur.
Charles taylor and paul ricoeur on selfinterpretations and narrative identity in this chapter i discuss charles taylors and paul ricoeur s theories of narrative identity and narratives as a central form of selfinterpretation. Narrative and narrative identity in his magnificent three volume work time and narrative 198488, ricoeur. This final volume of time and narrative wul both profit and exasperate its readers. While the work of paul ricoeur ranges over diverse subjects the problem of evil, the meaning of identity, human will, and human fragility his philosophical writings have increasingly centered on hermeneutics as the key instrument in the search for meaning. Narrative identity and meaning making across the adult lifespan. May 25, 2017 narrative identity and a poetics of the self. Paul ricoeurs theory of narrative has implications for a wide spectrum of contemporary thought. Paul ricoeur narrative identity free download as pdf file. Narrative patterns, therefore, are communicated, but they are also transformed in their application to specific instances. Charles taylor and paul ricoeur on selfinterpretations. Paul ricoeur and narrative identity psychology today.
Pdf charles taylor and paul ricoeur on selfinterpretations and. In this chapter i discuss charles taylors and paul ricoeurs theories of narrative identity and narratives as a central form of selfinterpretation. Narrative, moral identity and historical consciousness. Although ricoeur developed his theory of narrative with literary novels in mind, i would argue that it can also be read as a theory of religion, and as a theory of popular culture. Paul ricoeur on refigurative reading and narrative identity. Gerome truc 2011 etudes ricoeuriennes ricoeur studies 2 1. Ricoeurs theory of narrative as a theory of popular cultural. Time and narrative is the finest example of contemporary philosophical hermeneutics and is one of the most significant works of this book examines the later work of paul ricoeur, particularly his major work. Scribd is the worlds largest social reading and publishing site. Paul ricoeur the narrative constructs the identity of.
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the contribution of paul ricoeur s narrative theory to social events studies. The philosophy of paul ricoeur aims first of all to be a philosophy of freedom. Constructing and reconstructing narrative identity. Time amd narrative volume i paul ricoeur translated by kathleen mclaughlin and david pellauer paul ricoeur has been the dean of the faculty of letters and human sciences at the university of paris x nantcrrc for many years and is currently the john nuveen professor emeritus in the divinity school, the department of philosophy, and the. This example of narrative identity brings the practice of autobiography to mind. The essays, including three pieces by ricoeur himself, consider this important study, extending and developing the debate it has inspired. Paul ricoeur quotes from the narrative constructs the identity of the character, what can be called his or her narrative identity, in constructing that of the story told.
Conceptions of narrative identity began to emerge in the social sciences in the 1980s with the writings of philosopher, psychologists, and social theorists. Pdf the narrative identity in paul ricoeurs hermeneutics of the self adrian remodo academia. Jun 04, 20 narrative identity is a persons internalized and evolving life story, integrating the reconstructed past and imagined future to provide life with some degree of unity and purpose. I also will differentiate between different narrative approaches, comment on their merits and shortcomings, and therewith try to push narrative analysis toward a more comprehensive approach. Drawing on a vast number of philosophical, historical and sociological works, ricoeur s hermeneutics develops as an invaluable corpus of writings on virtually all the aspects of history and historicity alike. It is this interplay between the story and reader as developed by paul ricoeur that i want to reflect on in this paper.
Start your 48hour free trial to unlock this time and narrative study guide and get instant access to the following analysis. Time and narrative builds on paul ricoeurs earlier analysis, in the rule of metaphor, of semantic innovation at the level of the sentence. I also began, on my own, to read ricoeurs previously published works. In particular i examine how paul ricoeur links narrative discourse to. Religion, narrative and imagination paul ricoeur, mark i.
Narrative identity and meaning making across the adult. The theoretical foundation of the thesis is composed of three theories, which emphasizes a narrative identity. The notion of narrative identity first appeared in ric. Pdf the narrative identity in paul ricoeurs hermeneutics of the. Narrative discourse and identities clark university. It is the identity of the story that makes the identity of the character. Narrative is a cognitive instrument which conveys social articulations of identity. His mother died shortly thereafter and his father was killed in the battle of the marne in 1915, so ricoeur and his sister were reared by their paternal grandparents and an unmarried aunt in rennes.
According to the narrative view of personal identity, as theorized by thinkers such as marya schectman and alasdair macintyre, 19 identity is constructed through the narrative composition of autobiographical memory. The essays, including three pieces by ricoeur himself, consider this. Autobiographical memory and the art of storytelling and. Paul ricoeur narrative identity hermeneutics philosophical. Pdf in this chapter i discuss charles taylors and paul ricoeurs theories of narrative identity and narratives as a central form of.
Paul ricoeur s theory of narrative has implications for a wide spectrum of contemporary thought. My uncle says i am affectionate,cheerful, and calm. Narrative identity is mainly concerned with autobiographical memories and often are influenced by the meaning and emotions the individual has assigned to that event. Covering so much information, it is unsurprisingly a dense read, but one bound to be worthwhile for those interested in the complex relationship between our stories and our identities. Narration two decades ago inquiry into narrative played but a minor role in scholarly deliberation. Ricoeur here examines the creation of meaning at the textual level, with narrative rather than metaphor as the ruling concern. This collection of essays explores many of the areas to which his narrative strategies can be fruitfully applied, including architecture, psychology, psychoanalysis, feminist theory, ethics, sociology, medieval and contemporary literature, and religious studies. That is, we piece together our identities through the narration of a life story. This paper attempts to engage critically with ricoeur s multifaceted and multilayered approach to history. Somers university of michigan this article argues for reconfiguring the study of identity formation through the concept of narrative.
Philosophers writing on time, too, usually over look the contribution of narrative to a critique of the concept of time. Paul ricoeur and the theory of narrative identity article in allgemeine zeitschrift fur philosophie 383. Narrative, identity and modernity discussion paper for ecpr workshop the political uses of narrative mannheim, 2931 march, 1999 susan stephenson department of politics university of edinburgh email. This paper attempts to engage critically with ricoeurs multifaceted and multilayered approach to history. First, this is done through the explication of the concept in the framework of narrative approach. Introduction this paper will primarily be devoted to the concept of narrative. Narrative identity is a persons internalized and evolving life story, integrating the reconstructed past and imagined future to provide life with some degree of unity and purpose. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the contribution of paul ricoeurs narrative theory to social events studies. Ricoeur acknowledges that this narrative logic can lead to specious attributions of causality and purpose teleological thinking, although this is not a necessary outcome of narrative emplotment. Identiy is something only he or she can fully define. Constructing and reconstructing narrative identity lucius. My dad described me as perky, cheerful and happy, my. These memories perform a selfrepresentative function by using personal memories to create and maintain a coherent selfidentity, or narrative identity, over time. Singer department of psychology, connecticut college in a quiet but consistent way, a new subdiscipline of personality psychologynarrative identity researchhas emerged.
Here ricoeur links narrative identity with the philosophy of action, since narrative is the imitation of action mimesis. However, of the seven references to autobiography in time and narrative the only ones to have a bearing on the concept of narrative identity are two references that undermine it. Nevertheless, ricoeur also notes his differences with regard to marcels. This paper explores the relation between personal identity and story telling. Paul ricoeur s philosophical argumentation on narrative identity and personal. As such, his thought is within the same tradition as other major hermeneutic phenomenologists, edmund husserl and hansgeorg gadamer. The problem of an events definition and distinction is still at stake in sociological debates. French philosopher paul ricoeur 192005 developed an account of narrative and narrative identity that has been highly influential. Charles taylor and paul ricoeur on selfinterpretations and narrative identity. Ricoeur treats the question of just how far the aristotelian concept of plot in narrative fiction can be expanded and whether there is a point at which narrative fiction as a literary form not only blurs at the edges but ceases to exist at all. Combining the insights of ricoeurs philosophical analysis.
224 744 1209 472 838 1249 1293 607 916 1290 1310 1011 187 1483 426 1294 301 1292 1443 381 1160 147 1244 1465 72 578 1440 1033 1125 644 180 1244 573 551 105 967 336 374 386 1005 1166 164 784 1322 75 589 838 713 809 1439