The story of the self: the narrative basis of self-development

Authors

J D.D Hutto, University of Hertfordshire

RIS ID

81060

Publication Details

Hutto, J. D.D. (1997). The story of the self: the narrative basis of self-development. In K. Simms (Eds.), Ethics and the Subject (pp. 61-75). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Rodopi.

Additional Publication Information

ISBN: 9042000244

Abstract

There is an ongoing debate between those who believe selves are stable kinds of pre-linguistic entity, and those who maintain that selves are themselves, formed by our linguistic practices - specifically our capacity to compose stories and appreciate narratives. The latter view is usually advanced under the auspices of a particular vision of the nature of language. The essence of that vision, which rejects the idea that language serves a purely referential function, is nicely expressed by Kerby when he writes: "Language is viewed not simply as a tool for communicating or mirroring back what we otherwise discover in our reality, but is itself an important formative part of that reality, part of its very texture".