Human beings are not just biological entities; we are narrating animals. We understand our past as a story, our present as a scene, and our future as a project. Without narrative, our experiences would be a "blooming, buzzing confusion" of disconnected sensations.
The Ethical Dimension
Narrative is the primary tool of moral education. We don't learn empathy through abstract rules; we learn it through stories that put us in the shoes of the "other." In the narrative space, we can test ethical dilemmas without real-world consequences, refining our moral compass before we face the actual storms of life.
Searching for the "Why"
Philosophy asks the big questions, but narrative provides the laboratory to test the answers. Every great novel is a philosophical inquiry into what it means to be alive. As we decode the structures of our stories, we begin to decode the structures of our souls.
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