So, there are a couple of interesting questions raised by the rioting. First and foremost is: what is the nature of a riot like this? Is it a disorganised political movement, a reflexive act of rejection of an unjust system or mere opportunistic criminality? Perhaps some combination? When is it justifiable to riot? Further, is it justifiable for individuals of one community to participate in a riot whose genesis lies in injustice done to another community? (The white people currently rioting, for instance.) The final big question I see this as raising is whether the individual motivations of rioters are morally valent? Is a riot less legitimate if it is comprised with a proportionally larger set of opportunistic looters and antisocial types?

I'd be interested to hear some thoughts on these questions. For what it's worth, here are my takes, very briefly: riots (at least those like this) are essentially an expressive act of rejection against an unjust social order. There is no no aim--no goal--in the act of rioting, precisely because the rioting arises from the frustration of ordinary goal-directed activities. Accordingly, it is okay for people of one community to participate in a riot which has its genesis in the injustices against another community, so long as their participation represents a 'fitting attitude' to the injustice. Finally, the individual motivations of rioters are not particularly important for the moral assessment of riots as such: in being an expressive act of rejection, riots necessarily consist in wilful violation of public order. Looting, and the desire to loot, therefore, are not morally corrupting elements within given riots.

Thought I'd inaugurate my return to Serious with a topic related to my PhD thesis.

So the question is, what is a narrative? Is a sequence of events sufficient to be a narrative? If not, what else must be added to this recorded sequence of events in order to make it a narrative?

Candidates I can think of would be something like: causal determination between events, intentionality, internally guiding teloi, some kind of overall thematic structure (e.g. monomythical), authorial pretense, fictionalisation etc.

A corollary question would be what relation does narrative structure have with dialogue; are things like polyphonic novels different in kind in their narrative structure from 'regular' forms of literature, or do they operate with the same notion of narrativity?

Would be interested to hear some thoughts.