Ricoeur\u27s Theory of Narrative As a Reformulation of Husserl\u27s Notion of Intentionality

The scope of our analysis will not allow for a full explanation, let alone a justification, for all these various claims. Our task is to show that Ricoeur\u27s theory of narrative is a reformulation of Husserl\u27s notion of intentionality. Intentionality is the key concept of phenomenology, summarizing both the fact that 1) consciousness is always consciousness of something, always correlated to a part of the real world and that 2) the only being that things can have is a being for consciousness, for example being perceived, wished, remembered. Intentionality thus includes for Husserl a productive aspect: consciousness constitutes the meanings of things and events. It is my contention that Ricoeur\u27s theory of narrative explains how productive constitution works. In particular, when Husserl describes productive constitution as the moment when a subject reveals the meaning of a thing, it is Ricoeur\u27s account of narrative which explains how this moment occurs..