Paul Ricoeur’s theory of narration: from narrative organization of experience to narrative foundations of scientific knowledge

Abstract

The review of one of the most fundamental Paul Ricoeur’s books «Time and Narrative» demonstrates the perspectives and limitations of using the concept of narrative in sociological investigations of experience and scientific knowledge. The author of the review shows the logic of Ricoeur’s argumentation concerning the embeddedness of human experience in a narrative and the problem of interrelationship between narrative and time. The attention is focused on the notions, constituting the conception of narrative: «configuration», «episodic and universal connections of events». Apart from this, we put forward Ricoeur’s thesis that the knowledge of historical and social sciences is juxtaposed with experience via narrative. In order to argue for his theoretical position Ricoeur offers an original interpretation of M. Weber’s methodological program. The application of narrative construction in a scientific explanation is considered with reference to causal analysis.