The narrative structure of working cognition: Combining the Theory of Narrative Thought and Conviction Narrative Theory

I have combined two theories of narrative cognition to produce an integrated and more complete theory, called the theory of Narratively Structured Cognition (NSC). The latter is about how incoming information from the internal and external environments is structured by time and causality as the past causing the present, which will cause the future. This structure is narrative in form and is called the working narrative. It is a cognitive mechanism for predicting the future, which is called the expected future. The real future has yet to happen, so it cannot be evaluated for looming threats, but the expected future can be. Detected threats prompt action to delay, diminish, or eliminate them before the future becomes the present and the damage is done. NSC is presented first, followed by a brief comparison of the two earlier theories and how NSC combines them. Then uses for the expanded theory are discussed: The working narrative as the source of the everyday narratives we use for thinking and communication; research on narrative comprehension and use, and similar work; NSC as a foundational backstory for theories about everyday narratives and for other theories that use narrative as a core concept. I close with some very tentative suggestions about using NSC, or parts of it, to provide AI with a conscience.