written for a course in philosophical discourse
Narrative is an ever-evolving concept in rhetoric that both classic and contemporary philosophers apply unique interpretations. In essence, narrative is a rhetorical device that aims to elicit specific emotions from an audience to inspire an expanded way of thinking. Narrative is an outstanding concept in philosophy due to its role in persuasion, which is the critical goal of rhetoric. Though narrative as a means for persuasion may seem widely dispersed in its discussions amongst philosophers, it is rather a skill that has been branched outwards, expanding what it means. Stating that two philosophers disagree about the importance of narrative in persuasion does not suffice as philosophers have been inspired by each other.
To comprehensively trace the growth and evolution of narrative in rhetoric, it is necessary to first understand rhetoric in isolation. The concept was developed by Aristotle in his 400 BC treatise, Rhetoric, where he argues, “the rhetorician as someone who is always able to see what is persuasive,” (Topics VI.12, 149b25, as cited in Rapp, 2022). Aristotle emphasizes that rhetoric is less about relaying information but how it is relayed (Rapp, 2022). Essentially, rhetoric should be exercised as an important supplement to relaying knowledge as a means for the audience to personally understand the knowledge being proposed to them. Aristotle’s development of rhetoric inspires the concept of narrative.
Narrative, in rhetoric, is a personifying mechanism that inspires the audience to understand and personalize the weight of the facts being presented to them. 20th-century communication scholar Walter Fisher theorized the Narrative Paradigm, arguing that because humans are intrinsically strong storytellers, narrative is an ideal tool to persuade; a good story is better than a good argument (1987). Fisher’s paradigm is best understood in practice as it expresses his argument concerning persuasion, which is depicted in the following image.
(Norton & Sliep, 2016)
This reflexivity framework explores how intimately related narrative is with various human belief systems such as performance, and values and identity. Researchers Lynn Norton and Yvonne Sliep state, “When stories are explored within a reflexive framework, participants are invited, through examining their own story, to recognize the power at play within dominant discourses that can then be challenged” (2018). In the scheme of rhetoric with the end goal of persuasion, the audience is no longer an outsider to the facts that are being presented to them. Rather, they are participants in the reality of those facts. To Aristotle, practicing narrative in rhetoric intends to “make the events of previous events temporarily present or to use former or imaged events as images for things that could happen” (Iversen, 2014). By telling or creating a story, the facts of an argument decrease in hypothetical distance; the audience is brought into the narrative and inspired to practice theoretic autonomy. This, however, is an idea that is controversial. Plato’s Gorgias is a metaphor for his critique of rhetoric, where he explores the ethics of argument and highlights the shortcoming of rhetoricians’ relationships to fact. Though his critique is generally towards rhetoric as a whole, it can be applied to narrative specifically. In dialogue between Gorgias and Socrates, Plato poses questions attacking rhetoric, making claims such as that rhetoricians use their craft for power and pleasure (Plato, trans. by Hamilton & Emlyn-Jones, 2004). This implies that rhetoric is easy to abuse, thus being unethical. Though Plato’s perspective is important to consider, its attention is more focused on ethics instead of effectiveness of rhetoric.
Quintilian, however, shares the same sentiment as Aristotle. He equates the role narratio plays in oratory to that of generalship in war. (Quintilian, as cited in O’Banion, 1987), further amplifying the importance of storytelling in persuasion. Lynn Norton and Yvonne Sliep’s 2018 research article, “A critical reflexive model: Working with life stories in health promotion education,” argues that the application of narrative in modern medical education “increases critical thinking and a sense of identity, belonging and agency. The approach is holistic in that it connects new knowledge to lived experience.” Narrative rhetoric takes on a unique form here, as it has less to do with conventional persuasion. Instead this application of narrative in the context of higher education medical science students is to inform a personal, more holistic way of thinking. This shift in thinking can arguably be understood as persuasion, as it is a change in perspective informing how a student will act.
Narrative in rhetoric is a phenomenal tool for shifting perspectives as it requires the audience to participate in the knowledge being relayed to them. Though the perspectives around narrative are expected to grow, it is necessary to appreciate narrative in rhetoric as intimate regard to human nature as storytellers who move and are moved by emotions.
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