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Tag Archives: metanarratives
Fantasy worlds as thought experiments
Reading a fantasy or science fiction novel gives your imagination a good workout. Not only are you constantly watching for clues to help you paint a coherent picture of the story world and how it works, you’re sharing the viewpoint … Continue reading →
Posted in narrative science
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Tagged genocide, metanarratives, moral psychology, stories
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Real-life hopepunk
I’ve been meaning to write about hopepunk. One of my online friends, Susan Kaye Quinn, is a novelist in this newly recognized genre, and today she posted “A Brief History of Hopepunk.” Another online friend, the novelist P.J. Manney, has … Continue reading →
Putin, Ukraine, and the “glory” trap
As Russia, under the determined leadership of Vladimir Putin, shocks the world with its invasion of Ukraine, Americans find ourselves wondering: Why???? Here’s what the New York Times says about Putin’s position. “Mr. Putin has described the Soviet disintegration as … Continue reading →
Posted in history
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Tagged meaning in life, metanarratives, politics, salient concepts
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10 Comments
What it means to be a “we”
Today I read a really interesting idea in the New York Times. Columnist Jay Caspian Kang proposed that maybe it’s time to treat the “unhoused” (a.k.a. “homeless”) as a protected group. If this were to happen, he foresees three main … Continue reading →
Empirical and conceptual science: a vital partnership
It’s great fun to be an interdisciplinary thinker. It’s exciting to make connections that shed new light on old problems. I love the world “outside the box.” Or rather, here’s the graphic on my ironic Halloween t-shirt: Even though it’s … Continue reading →
How the War on Terror gave us Donald Trump
Twenty years ago, the United States began waging a “war” on terror, and now we learn that it was War on Terror ideas that fueled Trump’s rise to power. Today, the NYT’s Ezra Klein interviewed his colleague, Spencer Ackerman, about … Continue reading →
George Packer’s four warring visions
Are we really “Four Americas,” as George Packer’s recent Atlantic article tells us? Does this really mean, as he says, that “competing visions of the country’s purpose and meaning are tearing it apart”? I haven’t yet read his new book, … Continue reading →
“Happily ever after!” The new GOP storyline
On the one hand, it’s heartening that Republicans recently voted to make Juneteenth a new federal holiday. On the other hand, with all the Lost Cause handwringing during the Trump years, one wonders why. In a recent Slate interview, historian … Continue reading →
Posted in narrative science, US politics
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Tagged authoritarianism, critical race theory, history, metanarratives, politics, stories
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2 Comments
The ‘agile dolphin’ plan: Boris Johnson’s meta-narrative vision for Britain
Say what you will about British Prime Minister Boris Johnson – the man clearly grasps the political power of meta-narratives. Tom McTague profiled Johnson in the latest issue of The Atlantic, and concluded that to Johnson, “the point of politics … Continue reading →
How China’s ruling story helped kill 2.6 million people, and counting
So far, more than 2,640,000 people around the world have died from COVID-19. Thanks to the vaccines, maybe the death toll won’t climb much higher, and maybe life will soon return to normal. But is there anything China could have … Continue reading →
The Meta-Narrator 