Abstract

Philosophical practice is as varied as the methods and subject matter of philosophy itself, and thus may include approaches that involve analysis of the narrative self employing the methods and materials of philosophy. Empirical research suggests that the coherence of the constellation of the narratives constituting the narrative self is associated with an increased sense of purpose, meaning, and authenticity. In this paper, a practitioner (Daude) and a client (Peters) present the use of a philosophical parable, the Three Metamorphoses of the Spirit,” from Nietzsche's Also Sprach Zarathustra, as a means of effecting greater narrative self-coherence through interpretation and revision. Our aim is to provide a glimpse, from both perspectives, not only into the philosophical methodology of narrative self-analysis but also into particular moments in the genealogy of transformation revealed by this approach.