Some see history as the overall narrative we need to make sense of our lives and our culture. For others it is science. Then again there are those who endorse religion or philosophy as the most powerful grand narrative. There's little agreement on which is the best or even if there is a 'best' overall narrative. Richard Dawkins declared “Science is the only valid way to gain knowledge." Yet the founder of the philosophy of science, Auguste Comte, argued "to understand a science, it is necessary to know its history." Cicero went further claiming history “is the light of truth.” While Thucydides argued that behind all history is philosophy: "history is philosophy teaching by example." For Hegel philosophy and history were one. And of course for many religious belief is paramount.
Do we need to choose between these competing narratives? Is one dominant and the others merely incidental? Or can we hold all of them at once, even if in some respects they are incompatible?