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5 - Narratives in Cognitive Evolution

The Importance of Discourse in Meaning-Making Processes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 November 2021

By
Maïka Sondarjee
Edited by
Piki Ish-Shalom ,
Markus Kornprobst  and
Vincent Pouliot
Piki Ish-Shalom
Affiliation:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Markus Kornprobst
Affiliation:
University of Vienna
Vincent Pouliot
Affiliation:
McGill University, Montréal
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Summary

This chapter argues that one of the main lacunae of Emanuel Adler’s cognitive evolution framework is its lack of engagement with discourse as participating in meaning-making processes. It starts with a demonstration of what is arguably the most important contribution of the cognitive evolution framework: a becoming ontology. It then explores how adding narratives as a discursive process of becoming could strengthen this ontology. Cognitive evolution and narratives are complementary because they both rest on a becoming framework, so adding the latter has the potential to strengthen Adler’s theory, as well as its usefulness to guide empirical research. It uses the case of the World Bank and participatory development practices to demonstrate the importance of narrative in cognitive evolution and collective learning processes.

Keywords

Ontological narrativesDiscourseMeaningProcessual ontologyWorld Bank
Type
Chapter
Information
Theorizing World Orders
Cognitive Evolution and Beyond
 , pp. 107 - 133
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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