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International Studies in Phenomenology and Philosophy

Book | Chapter

207344

Looking at narrative as a complex system

the proteus principle

Federico Pianzola

pp. 101-122

Abstract

I am here proposing a strategy of consolidation for narrative studies. Disciplines and paradigms have their own specificities, which implicitly shape how we approach narrative phenomena. To make explicit such processes of selection and contextualization is an act of intellectual honesty and I suggest how to do it in three simple steps: (i) adopting a systemic perspective, (ii) distinguishing between logical levels, (iii) employing the Proteus Principle in the formation of theories. Narrative is seen and used in many different ways that can be conceived as systems, i.e. considering that the properties of narrative cannot be studied in isolation but are interconnected in a network of relations where all the components are influencing each other.

Publication details

Published in:

Walsh Richard, Stepney Susan (2018) Narrating complexity. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 101-122

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-64714-2_10

Full citation:

Pianzola Federico (2018) „Looking at narrative as a complex system: the proteus principle“, In: R. Walsh & S. Stepney (eds.), Narrating complexity, Dordrecht, Springer, 101–122.