A process philosophy views reality as constant change rather than static substances. Narratives can be seen as processes that emerge from the interactions of prehensions (experiences, perceptions, relations) that coalesce over time into actual occasions (events or processes). Any given narrative is an abstraction that represents only a limited number of the prehensions involved in its formation. Treating narratives as concrete facts rather than ongoing processes is an example of the "Fallacy of Misplaced Concreteness." Brexit is used as an example of how pre-vote narratives became prehensions that influenced the Brexit actual occasion, and how the post-vote narrative has continued to shift as new prehensions arise. On this process

1. Past-Present-Future: The Eternal
Emergence of Processual Narrative
Phil Wood
Nottingham Institute of Education
Narrative Matters Conference, Tampere, 16/06/2023

2. A view of reality based on process rather than substance. Opens up the idea that all
existence is a flow and constant change is ubiquitous. Focuses on interactions as much as
entities.
Defining process:
‘a coordinated group of changes in the complexion of reality, an organised family of occurrences
that are systematically linked to one another either causally or functionally. It is emphatically not
necessarily a change in or of an individual thing, but can simply relate to some aspect of the general
condition of things.’
Rescher (1996: 38)
Processual metaphysics

3. A conceptually rich philosophy.
Actual occasion. Spatiotemporally extended event/process,
interconnected with other actual occasions. We can think of humans as a
process, a coherent series of actual occasions over time, i.e. ‘a human
becoming’.
Prehension. The experiences, perceptions and relations which coalesce
to create the actual occasion.
Concrescence. The coalescing of prehensions to create an actual
occasion.
Whiteheadean Process Philosophy

4. Source:https://ericrose04.wordpress.com/2020/07/23/alfred-north-whitehead/

5. Narratives are the concrescence of a limited number of prehensions.
The prehensions flow from experience, environment, perceptions, relations.
The narrative we produce can be seen as an actual occasion, a concrescence of
prehensions. But this narrative will not remain constant, it is not ‘become’, final.
The narrative will in turn become a prehension for subsequent narratives, including
those reflecting on the same past experiences at a different time in the future.
Application to Narrative Research

6. Any narrative is a partial capture of the multitude of prehensions which create the actual
occasion, hence it is an abstraction.
The Fallacy of Misplaced Concreteness is a fallacy where abstractions are treated as
concrete, real events.
Hence, we must not see narratives as concrete and ‘finished’ facts, they will continue to
shift into the future, hence the reasons narratives shift and change over time.
Fallacy of Misplaced Concreteness

7. The narrative developed in the media within the UK immediately prior to 2016
skewed towards elements which supported the Leave campaign
A Quick Example - Brexit

8. Much of the media, many politicians and some high profile
business people were vocal in their support of Brexit.
If we see the event of Brexit as an actual occasion, the untested
and sometimes fictitious narratives ahead of it can be seen as
the multitude of prehensions which influenced the emergence of
that actual occasion.
This led to a Fallacy of Misplaced Concreteness for a few years –
no-one could question the decision; ‘Remoaners’, ‘Traitors’ etc
But this actual occurrence and other similar actual occurrences
now flow as prehensions into other future actual occurrences as
the narrative shifts

9. As a consequence, prehensions still occur, and begin to flow and coalesce into
different actual occurences.

10. Narrative can be seen as an ongoing process which never ends
Prehensions create actual occurrences through concrescence, and as such the past feeds
forward to create the present, but in turn, the present always feeds into the future, as
actual occurrences in turn become the prehensions feeding future actual occurrences.
As such we need to avoid the Fallacy of Misplaced Concreteness
Also suggests that any given individual might recount the same narrative in different ways
over time as they become aware of or remember different prehensions.
Hence, narratives themselves are in a constant process of becoming
Reflections

11. Thank You