On the Narrative Connection

Abstract

Narrative is a topic of increasing interest across the humanities and the social sciences today. Even philosophers like Richard Rorty and Alastair MacIntyre invoke it, often against something they call theory. However, although the notion of narrative frequently figures in many discussions in the university, it is not often defined. The purpose of this essay is to advance a characterization of our ordinary concept of narrative in terms of one of its crucial ingredients, and to explore some of the ramifications of that definition in light of how we might begin, in part, to understand narrative comprehension.