Published in three volumes between 1983 and 1985, Time and Narrative (Temps et récit) is one of Paul Ricoeur’s most influential works. It addresses a central philosophical question: how can human beings understand time?
Ricoeur argues that time, as a philosophical concept, is both experienced (phenomenological) and measured (cosmological). But it finds its most meaningful mediation in narrative. Storytelling, whether in history or fiction, is the way humans make sense of the passage of time, finitude, and memory.
Key Themes
1. The Problem of Time
Ricoeur begins with the tension between two classic views:
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Augustine: Time is a mystery tied to human consciousness—past, present, and future exist only in the mind as memory, attention, and expectation.
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Aristotle: Time is an objective measure, defined by movement and number.
Ricoeur seeks a mediating path, showing how narrative bridges subjective and objective understandings of time.
2. Narrative as Mediation
The heart of the work is the claim that narrative mediates human experience of time. Narratives do not merely recount events; they configure them into a meaningful whole. Through emplotment, events are arranged so that time becomes intelligible.
3. Emplotment and Configuration
Ricoeur borrows from Aristotle’s Poetics: a plot (muthos) organizes diverse events into a coherent story with a beginning, middle, and end. This emplotment transforms a sequence of happenings (chronology) into a meaningful narrative (configuration). Time thus becomes humanly comprehensible.
4. History and Fiction
A major contribution of Time and Narrative is Ricoeur’s exploration of the relationship between historical writing and fiction. Both share the narrative function of making time intelligible, but they differ in truth claims:
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History aims at factual truth, yet relies on narrative structures.
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Fiction creates possible worlds, expanding imagination and self-understanding.
Both reveal how deeply narrative shapes our temporal experience.
5. Mimesis: The Threefold Structure
Ricoeur develops the concept of threefold mimesis:
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Mimesis I (Prefiguration) – the world of action, symbols, and temporality before narration.
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Mimesis II (Configuration) – the act of emplotment, where events are arranged into a story.
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Mimesis III (Refiguration) – the reception of the narrative by readers, who integrate its meaning into their own temporal horizon.
This model captures how narratives both emerge from and reshape human experience.
6. Narrative Identity
An enduring idea from Time and Narrative is narrative identity: human beings understand themselves through the stories they tell. Identity is not fixed but unfolds through the dynamic interplay of memory, anticipation, and narrative configuration.
7. The Aporetics of Time
Despite narrative’s mediating role, Ricoeur acknowledges the aporetics (unresolvable tensions) of time. Narrative helps articulate time but cannot eliminate its mysteries—such as mortality, beginnings, and endings. These limits keep hermeneutics open and unfinished.
The Significance of Time and Narrative
Time and Narrative stands as a monumental contribution to philosophy, hermeneutics, and literary theory. Ricoeur demonstrates that human beings cannot grasp time abstractly; we rely on narrative to make sense of temporal existence. By linking time, story, and identity, Ricoeur provides a framework that continues to influence philosophy, history, theology, and literary studies.
Other Books by Ricoeur:
