Narrative Paradigm of Walter Fisher
by Leila Lefloor
Paradigm Shift
Critique
- Logos once was based on all forms of communication
- With the scientific revolution philosophy was thought of lesser
- Knowledge has become focused on the physical world
- Fisher calls this mindset the rational-world paradigm
- He believes this way of thinking is limited
- Demands for a shift to his narrative paradigm
Rational-world vs. Narrative Paradigm
- People argue that Fisher is too optimistic
- Good stories cannot go beyond what people already know
- The logic of good reasons denies the "rhetoric of possibility", removing possibility of change
- Removes some need for people with specialties like rhetoricians
Five Assumptions
Narrative paradigm:
- people are essentially storytellers
- we make decisions on the basis of good reason, which vary depending on the communication situation, media, and genre
- history, biography, culture, and character determine what we consider good reasons
- narrative rationality is determined by the coherence and fidelity of our stories
- the world is a set of stories from which we choose, and thus constantly re-create, our lives
Rational-world paradigm:
- people are essentially rational
- we make decisions on the basis of arguments
- the type of speaking situation determines the course of our argument
- rationality is determined by how much we know and how well we argue
- the world is a set of logical puzzles
- Rational-world paradigm is a scientific or philosophical approach to knowledge based on logic
- Narrative paradigm is a theoretical framework that views narrative as the basis of all human communication
Key Terms
The Logic of Good Reason
We are concerned with five value-related issues: values within the message, the relevance of said values, the consequences of adhering to the values, the overlap of the worldview, conformity with what the audience members believe
- Narration is "symbolic actions-words and or/deeds-that have meaning for those who live, create, or interpret them
- Paradigm is a conceptual framework, it insists people to view events through a "common interpretive lens"
- Narrative rationality is the way we evaluate the worth of stories
- Narrative coherence is consistency of the "characters"
- Narrative fidelity is is the quality of values in the message of the story
The Beginning
Walter Fisher
- Fisher was fixated with the belief that anything that deals with reason is best viewed through stories
- The essence of human nature according to Fisher
- People “experience and comprehend life as a series of ongoing narratives, as conflicts, characters, beginnings, middles, and ends”
- All forms of communication focusing on beliefs, attitudes, and actions need to be told through stories
- The term Narrative Paradigm is meant to show that no communication of ideas is purely descriptive or didactic
- 1931-2018
- Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Iowa (1960)
- Awarded Golden Anniversary Monograph Award from the Speech Communication Association (1979)