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The Narrative Dimension of Becoming Oneself

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Becoming oneself

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Abstract

“What makes a person a subject who both has a sense of self and makes sense of objects?” This question is central to Bildung. In this process of self-determination, narration plays a key role. The process of Bildung, which I view as reflexive and aimed at the formation of the self, is closely linked with narration, as a fundamental aspect of human experience and understanding. The thesis on which I base this paper is that narration, especially also telling a person’s life story, strengthens the sense of self and makes sense of objects. In my discussion, I clarify and justify this thesis.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Auyang (1999, p. 2).

  2. 2.

    Drath (1990, p. 485).

  3. 3.

    Auyang (1999, p. 12).

  4. 4.

    ibid.

  5. 5.

    Jaspers, (1953, 24f).

  6. 6.

    cf. Auyang (1999).

  7. 7.

    cf. Auyang (1999).

  8. 8.

    cf. Perry (2002).

  9. 9.

    cf. Perry (2002, p. 190).

  10. 10.

    cf. Perry (2002, p. 190).

  11. 11.

    Auyang (1999, p. 14).

  12. 12.

    cf. McAdams (1996, p. 295).

  13. 13.

    Barresi & Juckes, 1997, 694.

  14. 14.

    cf. McAdams (1996, p. 301).

  15. 15.

    McAdams (1996, p. 303).

  16. 16.

    cf. ibid., p. 301.

  17. 17.

    McAdams (1996, p. 301).

  18. 18.

    cf. ibid.

  19. 19.

    cf. ibid.

  20. 20.

    ibid.

  21. 21.

    cf. Buck (1984).

  22. 22.

    cf. Auyang (1999).

  23. 23.

    cf. Husserl (1904/05/2006, p. 31).

  24. 24.

    Husserl (1920/1992, p. 587).

  25. 25.

    Husserl (1904/05/2006, p. 31).

  26. 26.

    Husserl (1923/24/1992, p. 133).

  27. 27.

    cf. McAdams (1996).

  28. 28.

    Emmons (1996, p. 333).

  29. 29.

    cf. Fingarette (1963).

  30. 30.

    Brandtstädter (1999, p. 58).

  31. 31.

    Hoff and Evers (2003, 131 ff.).

  32. 32.

    Baltes (1990).

  33. 33.

    cf. Thomae (1959).

  34. 34.

    Blasi (2009, p. 17).

  35. 35.

    ibid., p. 22.

  36. 36.

    Weeks and Pasupathi (2011, p. 471).

  37. 37.

    Steindorf (1985, p. 201).

  38. 38.

    Kegan (2001, p. 194).

  39. 39.

    cf. Kegan et al. (2009).

  40. 40.

    cf. Kegan (2000, 107 ff.).

  41. 41.

    cf. Kegan, 2000.

  42. 42.

    ibid., 32f.

  43. 43.

    Kegan, 2000, 32f.

  44. 44.

    cf. Kegan, 2000.

  45. 45.

    Kegan, 2000.

  46. 46.

    Kegan, 2000.

  47. 47.

    ibid.

  48. 48.

    Kegan, 2000, 32f.

  49. 49.

    ibid.

  50. 50.

    Witsch, 2008, 54.

  51. 51.

    Perry (2002, p. 211).

  52. 52.

    ibid, 212.

  53. 53.

    cf. Kegan, 2000.

  54. 54.

    Kegan and Lahey (2009).

  55. 55.

    ibid., p. 22.

  56. 56.

    Rogers (2009).

  57. 57.

    cf. Diehl (2006).

  58. 58.

    cf. McAdams (1996, p. 307).

  59. 59.

    cf. Stein and Policastro (1984).

  60. 60.

    Barresi and Juckes (1997, p. 695).

  61. 61.

    cf. Stein and Policastro (1984).

  62. 62.

    cf. Wiener and Rosenwald (1993, p. 32).

  63. 63.

    cf. Widdershoven (1993, p. 7).

  64. 64.

    McAdams (1996, p. 309).

  65. 65.

    Widdershoven (1993, p. 9).

  66. 66.

    ibid., p. 7.

  67. 67.

    ibid., p. 6.

  68. 68.

    cf. McAdams (1996, p. 309).

  69. 69.

    cf. Arnett (2000).

  70. 70.

    cf. Kegan and Lahey (2009).

  71. 71.

    cf. Shantz and Hartup (1992).

  72. 72.

    cf. Kegan and Lahey (2009, p. 54).

  73. 73.

    cf. Fichte (1794, p. 418).

  74. 74.

    Kunnen and Bosma (2000, p. 60).

  75. 75.

    Pals (2006, p. 1081).

  76. 76.

    cf. McAdams (2001).

  77. 77.

    Pals Ligendahl and McAdams (2011, p. 395).

  78. 78.

    Pals (2006, p. 108).

  79. 79.

    ibid.

  80. 80.

    ibid.

  81. 81.

    cf. ibid.

  82. 82.

    Rentsch (1992, p. 301).

  83. 83.

    cf. Spranger (1958).

  84. 84.

    Staudinger (2001).

  85. 85.

    cf. Fichte (1794, 418 f).

  86. 86.

    Kegan, 2001, p. 194.

  87. 87.

    cf. Perry (2002).

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  1. Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Institut für Bildung und Kultur, Am Planetarium 4, 07737, Jena, Germany

    Prof. Dr. Käthe Schneider

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    Käthe Schneider

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Schneider, K. (2012). The Narrative Dimension of Becoming Oneself. In: Schneider, K. (eds) Becoming oneself. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-19156-0_4

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