Why Narrative and Critical Thinking Matter Today
Across schools and universities, critical thinking is widely promoted as an essential competence for navigating modern social, ethical, and technological challenges. Yet many educators report that students struggle to evaluate arguments, reflect on assumptions, or connect ideas meaningfully. Instruction often prioritizes measurable outcomes and content mastery, leaving little room for deeper reflection.
At the same time, storytelling has become increasingly visible in education, leadership training, digital media, and public communication. Stories are used to engage audiences, simplify complex ideas, and motivate learners. However, most discussions treat storytelling as a teaching technique rather than as a way knowledge itself is formed.
The research by Andreas and Samosir addresses this gap by showing that narrative is not merely a communication tool. It is a fundamental structure through which humans understand reality, reason about causes, and reflect on knowledge claims. This insight places narrative at the heart of critical thinking rather than on its margins.
How the Study Was Conducted
The article uses a conceptual and philosophical research design, rather than surveys or experiments. The authors conducted a close and systematic reading of classical philosophical texts by:
· Plato, known for his dialogues and allegories
· Aristotle, whose work emphasizes logic, causality, and ethical judgment
· Immanuel Kant, a central figure in modern epistemology
By comparing these thinkers, the researchers analyzed how narrative structures knowledge, reflection, and judgment. The method focused on interpreting key ideas and synthesizing them into a single explanatory framework that connects storytelling with critical thinking.
Key Findings: Narrative as a Framework for Knowing
The study identifies several ways narrative supports critical thinking at an epistemic level:
· From opinion to knowledge (Plato): Narrative helps learners move beyond unexamined beliefs. Plato’s allegories, such as the famous Cave, use stories to challenge assumptions and invite reflection, encouraging a transition from opinion to reasoned understanding.
· Causal and logical reasoning (Aristotle): Aristotle viewed narrative as an organized structure governed by cause and effect. Stories make human actions intelligible by showing motives, consequences, and ethical choices. This structure trains the mind to evaluate coherence and plausibility.
· Structured experience and reflection (Kant): Kant argued that knowledge emerges when experience is organized by mental categories such as time and causality. Narrative arranges experience into meaningful sequences, making people aware of how understanding itself is formed.
Together, these perspectives show that narrative plays a central role in how people analyze information, evaluate claims, and reflect on their own thinking.
Implications for Education and Society
The findings have important implications for educators, curriculum designers, and policymakers.
For education, the research challenges skill-based models of critical thinking that focus on isolated abilities like analysis or evaluation. Instead, it suggests that critical thinking develops through engagement with narratives that encourage questioning, causal reasoning, and reflection.
For teacher training, the study highlights the importance of philosophical awareness. Educators who understand narrative as a way of structuring knowledge can design learning activities that foster deeper judgment rather than surface-level recall.
For policy and curriculum development, the research supports approaches that integrate dialogue, case studies, ethical scenarios, and reflective storytelling across disciplines, from humanities to social sciences and even professional education.
More broadly, the study offers insight into how societies process information in an age of digital media, misinformation, and polarized narratives. Understanding how stories shape knowledge can help individuals become more reflective and responsible thinkers.
An Academic Perspective
According to Otto Mart Andreas of Universitas Pelita Harapan, narrative should be understood as more than an instructional aid. In ethical paraphrase, Andreas explains that storytelling structures how learners organize experience, assess causality, and become aware of the conditions under which knowledge is justified. This epistemic role makes narrative central to the formation of critical thinking, not supplementary to it.
Author Profiles
Otto Mart Andreas, M.Ed. Lecturer and researcher at Universitas Pelita Harapan. His expertise includes philosophy of education, epistemology, and critical thinking.
Elisabet Marthawati Samosir, M.Hum. Lecturer at Universitas Pelita Harapan with expertise in educational philosophy, narrative studies, and reflective learning.
Source
Article Title: Narrative as an Epistemic Framework for Critical Thinking
Journal: Indonesian Journal of Advanced Research (IJAR)
Publication Year: 2026
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