ISSN 2756-3405
African Journal of Philosophy and Religious Studies Vol. 8 (6), pp. 001-008, June, 2022. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Ricoeur’s narrative theory applied to science
Sanja Ivic
Institute for European Studies, Department of philosophy, Belgrade University, Serbia. E-mail: [email protected].
Accepted 25 May, 2022
Abstract
Ricoeur’s narrative theory can be applied to scientific theories. Scientific theories as well as narrative plots represent a “synthesis of heterogeneous” based on productive imagination. On the other hand, narrative plots can be perceived as an answer to the “why?” questions as well as scientific explanations. In this paper it will be argued that an analogy between narrative and scientific paradigms can be made. In the 18th and 19th centuries, both narrative and scientific paradigms aspired to represent a mimesis of reality. However, in the 20th century, those realist aspirations were rejected or supplemented with an idea of fragmented and mind-dependent reality. This point of view opened the question of the role of non-existent (and non-referential concepts) in science. In literature, novels without traditional plots arose.
Key words: Emplotment, explanation, narrative, science, realism.