Some aspects of narrative method

The idea of abstracting and/or generalising the structure of a narrative (i.e. a set of weakly connected human actions) using a mapping rule which creates either a tolerance (a symmetric reflexive relationship) or an equivalence on the domain set is explored. The paper is an extension of earlier work by the author. A detailed example of the use of narrative analysis is provided which links the analysis into a game‐theoretic context.

… for each of us is a biography, a story. Each of us is a singular narrative, which is constructed, continually, unconsciously, by, through, and in us—through our perceptions, our feelings, our thoughts, our actions; and not least, our discourse, our spoken narrations. Biologically, physiologically, we are not so different from each other; historically, as narratives—we are each of us unique. To be ourselves we must have ourselves—possess, if needs be re‐possess, our life stories. We must “recollect” ourselves, recollect the inner drama, the narrative of ourselves. A man needs such a narrative

Oliver Sacks The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, 1985.