Fisher, Walter "Narration as a Human Communication Paradigm"

From RhetorClick

In this article, Fisher presents the idea of creating a narrative paradigm to use in the study of rhetoric. This paradigm, he says, would be used in situations where the Rational World Paradigm is not useful. According to Fisher, human communication should be viewed historically, as well as situationally. The narrative paradigm works on the claim that all human experiences and communication is part of a narrative, and that without said narrative, nothing can ever be fully understood. Fisher seems to agree with other rhetors we have read and believes that much of rhetoric in the rational world paradigm gets reduced to shouting over other people’s statements, and trying to prove one right answer. The narrative paradigm would seek to expand the definition of “good reasons” and “good arguments,” and teach people that public moral arguments should be more about discussing and debating which “story” is a better fit; in other words, to promote understanding and open-mindedness instead of forcing people to believe in one correct answer.--Amber B. 10:00, 3 April 2012 (PDT)