Master Narratives, Ethics, and Morality

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors explore how master narratives have ethical and moral implications, and how master narratives can provide a way for researchers to look at the intersections of culture, ethics, morality, and individual development. The authors make this case by advancing three propositions about the relations among master narratives, ethics, and morality: (1) master narratives are fundamentally about ethics, in that they outline and convey culturally held ideas about the nature of a good life; (2) while all master narratives are grounded in ethics, not all master narratives are moral; and (3) despite proposition 2, master narratives can come to exert moral force. The authors first describe the master narrative framework and then follow with a detailed discussion of the three propositions. The intent of the authors is that this integration of master narratives with moral development will help researchers in both areas to think about their work in new ways.

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