Beyond the Rhetoric: some Keys on the Contribution of the Narrative Approach to Bioethics

Abstract

Every fact must be narrated in order to be subject of value judgement. But this value judgement depends partly on how that fact is narrated. Some authors have highlighted the democratic value of the narrative approach, because of its admission of different points of view to construct a story. The problem is that these points of view can easily lead to alternative solutions o even opposing ones. This phenomenon is not rare in our multicultural society. From an strictly narrative point of view, the best story is the most persuasive. But this lead us to relativism, because the efficacy of an story relies on the audience towards the argumentation is developed. In this work we have tried to bring to light that the genuine contribution of the narrative approach is not achieved if we stay on the level of facts and we do not pass to the level of normativity. We suggest the thesis that the utility of narrative approach is a function of the archetypical standard of behavior that a story may content. So this approach, beyond its specific connections with some of the most prominent bioethical methodologies, become directly connected with the notion of practical reason.