Cognitive Affordances, Aesthetic Effects and Social Functions: A Systemic Approach to Narrative Studies

This paper argues for the adoption of systems theory as a key for the interdisciplinary integration of concepts and theories dealing with the study of narrative. The focus is on a possible solution for the correlation of discursive forms to cognitive, aesthetic, and social functions of narrative, in the context of biographical research. The role of the body and the presence of others are conceived as necessary conditions for the emergence of the narrative experience. Bringing together narratology and biographical research, emphasis is given to the epistemological coherence of interdisciplinary dialogue, with the aim to foster a fruitful collaboration for the development of a broad systemic theory of narrative. At last, I sketch a dynamic system model for the interdisciplinary theorization of narrative research