II. Narrative ↑

18. We fashion narratives.

Let’s define a narrative as an account that includes the following elements:

• A situation
• A locale
• A cast of characters
• A sequence of events
• Some degree of causation
• An outcome

Note that narrative formation builds on our abilities to consider the past, present and future, our sense of causality and our use of sophisticated language.

We often think of narratives in the context of professionally produced entertainment packages — such as movies, tv shows, novels and short stories — and consider their value primarily in terms of their ability to entertain us for a bit during our periods of leisure.

But the application of narrative in human life is much broader than that.

We humans use narratives to encapsulate knowledge and wisdom.

Any scientific experiment can be easily fit into the form of a narrative. And any application of scientific knowledge to a problem can be expressed in the form of a narrative.

Any profession has its own narrative or, more likely, series of associated narratives.

And narrative contributes to our sense of meaning when:

• We recognize the story (or stories) in which we are participating;
• We know what part(s) we are playing;
• We understand how those around us fit into these shared narratives;
• We can identify our temporal position(s) within the these narrative arc(s);
• We can anticipate desirable outcome(s).