Abstract:
This essay proposes a frame of reference in which the culture critical introspection
of a community can be understood. A critical exposition of elements of the philosophies of Jeismann, Kuhn, Gadamer and Lyotard is developed with reference to their value for a narratological perspective. The author proposes a narrative understanding of a community and its members, their documents and the relation between community, members and documents. Two elements in relation to which stoms of any community in South Africa could be read - racism and nationalism - are also examined.