For Lukács narration is the absolute, not pure thought

Evidence

But for Lukács, as we will see again and again in varying contexts, pure thought never has absolute value as a privileged means of access to reality. On the contrary, it is narration which is for him the absolute, and even the preliminary sketch of the stages of Greek art has as its premise the primacy of narration. Only the epic can be considered a purely narrative form: tragedy is drama—that is to say, it presents instants only, can no longer have recourse to the techniques of narrative continuity; and in philosophy, of course, the dominance of pure thought, far from being a virtue, is judged and evaluated precisely by its elimination of narration as a formal possibility. — Fredric Jameson, Marxism and Form, 355

Categorization

• XREF: This anti-Hegelian privileging of narration over philosophy is a cornerstone of the Frankfurt lineage Jameson is reconstructing; resonates with Adorno against the primacy of the concept and with narrative theory that Jameson later develops in The Political Unconscious. — connects to: Lukács’s career forms one continuous meditation on narrative; Narration is historically possible only in concrete dramatic moments — Fredric Jameson, Marxism and Form, 401

Broader Connections

• Narration is historically possible only in concrete dramatic moments #qualifies (0.75) — Fredric Jameson, Marxism and Form, 401