Book Review: Human Communication as Narration (by Walter Fisher)

In perhaps his most important contribution to rhetorical theory and the understanding of human communication, Walter Fisher presents an explanation of his narrative paradigm in Human Communication as Narration: Toward a Philosophy of Reason, Value and Action. This book essentially elaborates on and refines Fisher’s previous articles on the narrative paradigm and aims to present a more complete explanation of the theory’s roots, as well as its main tenets and relevant applications. Human Communication as Narration begins with an exhaustive examination of the history of narratives and logic, which includes his assertion that the logic by which human communication should be assessed return to the roots of the original meaning of logos: “story, reason, rationale, conception, discourse, thought” (p. 10). He asserts that Plato and Aristotle transformed the word logos into a specific term that applied only to philosophical/technical discourse, which launched a “historical hegemonic struggle” that has lasted for more than 2,000 years (p. 10). Fisher explains that the positivist, “rational-world paradigm” that emphasized formal logic and reasoning (p. 58) is improved upon with his view of a more post-modern, ontological foundation where meaning is co-created through less formal structures like stories. In resurrecting the original meaning of logos, grounding his theory in ontology, and classifying human beings as “Homo narrans” (p. xi) , or storytelling animals, Fisher rejects the notion that technical logic is the only path to truth and knowledge, and argues that, as the ancients believed, all human communication is rational and contains truth and knowledge (p. 20). This more inclusive account of human communication together with the view that all human communication needs to be seen as stories sets the foundation for Fishers’ theory of narratives. In presenting the main points of his narrative theory over several chapters, Fisher explains that humans experience

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