The Epistemology of Post-foundationalism and Re-authoring Process as the Narrative Therapy: Case Study of Jeju Woman’s Narratives.

Abstract

When we listen to the stories of other people, we easily perceive the fact that we need various lenses for understanding their stories, such as cultural factors, issues of power and feelings of marginalization, etc. The post-foundationalist notion of rationality is not only necessary for considering many sociological contexts in which people are situated but also to understand and receive their own reasoning and rationality. In order to explain what narrative therapy approach is and how it works, this paper proposes Van Huysteen’s Post-foundationalism and particularly transversal rationality as an epistemological method. The epistemological method of Post-foundationalism is an effort not only to move beyond the boundaries of modernism, but also to avoid the relativism of Antifoundationalism. By using and adapting Post-foundationalism, we develop our knowledge contextually and understand people’s narratives based on their specific local situations. Personal identity narratives are established on the basis of wide cultural identity narratives. Each individual’s narratives are enhanced by the story of others, and grows within culturally embedded influences. Through interdisciplinary work, how this perspective supports co-worker’s narratives for understanding is considered and discussed in relation to the Jeju woman’s narratives. Through various viewpoints, their stories offer a point of entry to the alternative storylines of people’s lives as meaning-making resources. In addition, this study will further investigate on what the stories of experiencing God’s presence are doing to the people’s identity narratives. Listening to the various stories of experiencing God’s presence invites people to develop and tell stories about their own lives continually and provide a starting point for re-authoring conversations. That is also discussed in relation to the Jeju woman’s experience narratives.