Ist der Mensch ein erzählendes Wesen?

Is there perhaps a narrative instinct as well as a play instinct? Is the ability to tell stories merely a disposition that must first be learnt and developed if it is to become a cultural achievement? Is the human being - to paraphrase Friedrich Schiller - not ‘only fully human where he plays’, but also where he tells stories?
But can an authentic communication succeed in storytelling that leads to questions and successful discourse? Or is the almost inflationary use of the term narrative in current (political) discussions an indication that there is also a power of storytelling that harbours the danger of manipulation, because reality is not accurately described, but invented?

Peter Leitzen invites us to search for answers to these questions and to analyse the power of narration.