The dramatic essence of the narrative approach.

Abstract

Even though it is not a methodology on the level of principlism or casuistry, narrative bioethics nonetheless contributes to and guides decision-making in the field of biomedical ethics. However, unlike other methodologies, the narrative approach lacks a set of specific patterns and formal rulesfor doing so. This deficiency leaves this approach more vulnerable to the influence of historical factors; in fact, the vital history of a person is made up of thousands of scenes, which one must select and group under differentnorms. Yet the historicity of narrative does not destroy its normative value; rather, itgives rise to aconfluence of stories that contradict one another on the basis of their practical consequences. This problem is less severe in traditionalcultures, where some stories take precedence over othersaccording to the normative value conferred through the supposed authority of their sources. But it manifests in an intense manner within current multicultural societies. It is imperative to find the thread that leads outside the labyrinth of subjectivity. This paper shows that the end of this thread lies, paradoxically, not in actions but in the subject-actors that perform them-specifically when such subjects are conceived as dramaturgical characters in narrative.