Self without a selfstory: Why I don't want to live in a narrative
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15136/2025.12.1.30-45Abstract
The concept of narrative is widely discussed in fields such as psychology, psychotherapy, and philosophy, where it encompasses narrativity, narrative thinking, and the notion of narrative as a consistent self-story. I challenge the prevailing view in modern psychology, which asserts that everyone requires a narrative to be a complete, "normal," and ethical individual. My arguments are grounded in philosophical insights from scholars like Galen Strawson and Martin Heidegger, as well as findings from the psychological research of John Watkins and Helen Watkins. I perceive narrative as a framework that enables individuals to present their lives as a coherent cumulative unity of events based on their life experiences. It is important to note that my perspective does not imply that everyone is obligated to have a narrative and live in strict accordance with it, as a deviation from it does not render one incomplete as a person. I advocate for a philosophical and ethical stance that recognizes the equality in the choices of adopting a narrative as a personal life paradigm rooted in one's past experiences or abandoning it altogether. This article acknowledges both ways of living as ethically equivalent and emphasizes them as acts of personal freedom and choice.
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