On Narrative Identity and Truth of the Self

Abstract

The following paper offers an account of Paul Ricoeur’s “narrative identity” which proposes that the identity of human persons (or selves) is constituted through narratives about oneself. This account of personal identity is then further formulated through replies to the main objection raised against it, namely, that narrative identity reveals a division in the self: it shows there must be - the objectors argue - a more originary experiential self prior to the self-interpreted narrative self. The replies to the objection offer, first, with the help of Jan Pato?ka’s conception of “movement”, a way to conceive a kind of being that is constituted through its self-narration; secondly, with the help of Judith Butler, a way to understanding how an apparent division in the self when one lies about oneself is bridged in an understanding of our own human limitations and fragility.