The Narrative Mediation Thesis: A Philosophical Account of Marketing as the Structure of Human Reality

Abstract

This paper advances the Narrative Mediation Thesis, which argues that all human access to reality—across perception, identity, knowledge, ethics, and social coordination—is fundamentally mediated through narrative framing. “Marketing,” understood not as commercial persuasion but as the general process of selecting, shaping, and presenting narratives, is therefore not a distortion of truth but the structural form through which human truth becomes intelligible. The thesis is developed through four interlocking claims: (1) metaphysical mediation, (2) ontological performativity, (3) epistemic framing, and (4) ethical narrative responsibility. The paper further examines how artificial intelligence, as a non‑conscious narrative generator, exposes the narrative architecture of human cognition and forces a reconsideration of human purpose in a world where narrative production is no longer exclusively human. The conclusion outlines avenues for empirical, conceptual, and phenomenological critique.

1. Introduction

Human beings do not encounter the world directly. Every perception, concept, and judgment is filtered through interpretive structures—linguistic, cultural, cognitive, and social. This paper argues that these structures are fundamentally narrative in form. Narrative is not merely a literary device but the basic architecture through which humans organize experience, construct identity, justify beliefs, and coordinate collective life.

If this is correct, then “marketing”—the deliberate or emergent shaping of narratives—is not a peripheral social practice but a universal condition of human existence. Marketing becomes the name for the process by which reality is rendered meaningful, actionable, and communicable.

The goal of this paper is not to defend marketing as an industry, nor to reduce truth to manipulation, but to articulate a philosophical framework in which narrative mediation is the primary mode of human engagement with the world. This framework is presented as a set of claims that can be tested, challenged, or refined.

2. Core Claims of the Narrative Mediation Thesis

Claim 1: Metaphysical Mediation

Human beings never encounter unframed reality; all experience is mediated through narrative structures.

Supporting Arguments

1. Perceptual Filtering: Cognitive science shows that perception is selective, predictive, and interpretive rather than passive or neutral.
2. Linguistic Structuring: Language imposes categories, metaphors, and temporal structures that shape how phenomena appear.
3. Cultural Narratives: Social groups provide interpretive frameworks that determine what counts as meaningful, relevant, or real.

Testable/Refutable Point:
If any domain of human experience can be shown to be unmediated—free of interpretive framing—this claim would be weakened.

Claim 2: Ontological Performativity

Entities—including persons, institutions, and social roles—exist for humans only through stabilized narratives.

Supporting Arguments

1. Identity as Narrative: Psychological continuity depends on autobiographical storytelling; without narrative coherence, the self dissolves.
2. Social Ontology: Institutions (e.g., money, laws, nations) exist only through shared narratives and collective recognition.
3. Performative Being: Many identities (gender, profession, status) persist through repeated enactment rather than intrinsic essence.

Testable/Refutable Point:
If an identity or institution can be shown to persist independently of narrative recognition or enactment, this claim would be undermined.

Claim 3: Epistemic Framing

Knowledge is inseparable from the narrative frames that render information intelligible.

Supporting Arguments

1. Interpretation Precedes Knowledge: Facts require contextualization to become meaningful; interpretation is unavoidable.
2. Objectivity as Intersubjective Stability: Scientific consensus emerges through narrative convergence, not through access to a “view from nowhere.”
3. Competing Narratives: Disagreements often arise not from data but from differing interpretive frames.

Testable/Refutable Point:
If a form of knowledge can be demonstrated to exist independently of interpretive framing, this claim would be challenged.

Claim 4: Ethical Narrative Responsibility

Ethical action concerns the responsible use of narrative power, not the impossible ideal of unframed truth.

Supporting Arguments

1. Persuasion is Unavoidable: All communication frames reality; influence is inherent, not optional.
2. Agency and Transparency: Ethical persuasion respects the audience’s ability to evaluate the frame; manipulation bypasses it.
3. Narrative Stewardship: Moral systems function as shared stories that coordinate behavior and reduce harm.

Testable/Refutable Point:
If ethical communication can be shown to exist without framing or influence, this claim would be weakened.

3. Artificial Intelligence as a Philosophical Test Case

AI systems generate coherent narratives without subjective experience. This exposes two important insights:

1. Narrative Construction Does Not Require Consciousness: AI demonstrates that narrative generation is a formal, structural process.
2. Human Cognition Is Revealed as Narrative: AI mirrors human interpretive habits, making the constructedness of human identity and knowledge more visible.

Implication:
AI does not threaten human uniqueness; it clarifies that human uniqueness lies in experiencing narratives, not merely generating them.

4. Implications for Human Purpose

If narrative mediation is the structure of human reality, and AI can generate narratives at scale, then human purpose shifts from producing narratives to:

• curating meaning
• selecting values
• cultivating identity
• sustaining shared worlds
• engaging in relational and experiential depth

Purpose becomes a conscious project of narrative authorship rather than an inherited or automatic function.

5. Objections and Paths for Refutation

A robust theory must invite critique. The Narrative Mediation Thesis can be challenged on several fronts:

Objection 1: The Charge of Relativism

If all truth is narrative‑mediated, does this collapse into “anything goes”?
Response: The thesis distinguishes between narrative mediation and narrative equivalence; some narratives are better justified, more coherent, or more predictive.

Objection 2: The Existence of Non‑Narrative Cognition

Are there forms of knowledge (e.g., mathematical intuition, raw sensation) that escape narrative framing?
Response: If such domains can be demonstrated, they would limit the scope of the thesis.

Objection 3: The Reality of Mind‑Independent Structures

Does narrative mediation deny the existence of an external world?
Response: No; it claims only that human access to that world is mediated.

Objection 4: AI as Counterexample

If AI can generate narratives without experience, does this trivialize narrative mediation?
Response: AI reveals the structure of narrative mediation but does not replicate human phenomenology.

6. Conclusion

The Narrative Mediation Thesis proposes that marketing—understood as the universal process of narrative framing—is the structural condition of human reality. It is not a distortion of truth but the form through which truth becomes accessible. By reframing metaphysics, ontology, epistemology, and ethics in narrative terms, the thesis offers a unified account of human cognition and social life. The emergence of AI further illuminates the narrative architecture of human existence and forces a reconsideration of human purpose in a world where narrative production is no longer exclusively human.

The theory is offered not as a final word but as a framework open to empirical, conceptual, and phenomenological critique. Its strength lies in its testability: if any domain of human life can be shown to operate independently of narrative mediation, the thesis must be revised or rejected. Until then, it provides a compelling lens through which to understand the structure of human truth.