But narrative is our primary means for understanding; it’s where we get the context for situating our ideas. Even the ‘self’ is a story we tell ourselves, to give narrative unity to the disparate actions we take.
You’re absolutely right; it’s the overuse of narrative we need to be concerned about. Humanity can’t get by without it, but one inch too much and we’re in self-delusion territory.
But narrative is our primary means for understanding; it’s where we get the context for situating our ideas. Even the ‘self’ is a story we tell ourselves, to give narrative unity to the disparate actions we take.
While many philosophers have written about this in recent years, I shall point to the one most likely to be respected here. Dan Dennett: The Self as a Center of Narrative Gravity
You’re absolutely right; it’s the overuse of narrative we need to be concerned about. Humanity can’t get by without it, but one inch too much and we’re in self-delusion territory.
Agreed. At least postmodernism got something right.