Contradictions of the concept of narrative identity by P. Ricoeur: the dialectics of variability and staticity

Abstract

This paper examines the complexities of understanding and using of the concept of narrative identity proposed by Paul Ricoeur: it is emphasized that the categories of character and the word given to someone involved in maintaining identity are not opposed to each other. Depending on the type of their interaction, two types of identity arise: sameness and selfhood, which in turn are also not mutually exclusive modes, but are polar in the sense of creating lines of tension between them, forcing the subject to lean toward one pole or the other. Narrative identity is a mediating mechanism linking these four categories. The article examines the problem of doubting the «authenticity» of such an identity construct, which turns out to be changeable, based on the arbitrary choice of the subject. It is suggested that this form of identity is an adequate response to the expanding capabilities of subjects and the acceleration of the variability of their life world. We develop Ricoeur’s assumption that the category of narrative identity can be applied to collective subjects. It is concluded that this category can be fruitful for understanding the narratives of memory politics, self-awareness of communities, but so far there are difficulties in its practical application, which require further examination.