Philosophy For Our Times The power and the pitfalls of narrative | Matthew Beaumont, Ruth Padel, and Theodore Dalrymple
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Apr 29, 2025 AI Snips
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Narrative's Resurgence Post-1990s
- Matthew Beaumont pointed out narrative's resurgence after the 1990s linked to the collapse of grand narratives like the Soviet Union.
- This led to proliferation of smaller narratives as people try to make sense of a confusing neoliberal world.
Anecdote: A False Victim Narrative
- Theodore Dalrymple shared a legal case where drug addicts initially had no personal narrative and then adopted a false victim narrative blaming drugs entirely.
- This confrontation with their full life stories led many to misery, realizing their addiction was both consequence and cause of their life decisions.
Anecdote: Teaching Sequence Shapes Story
- Ruth Padel told of her daughter's experience with a maths teacher teaching sequences before alphabets.
- She linked narratives to causal relationships critical for understanding events and shaping theories like Darwin's.