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Best book on history so far this century
This, the last book written by the great French philosopher Paul Ricoeur, is an amazing achievement. Readers be warned: this is no easy romp through historiography or memory studies. It is a deeply philosophical meditation on the meaning of history and historicism as an act of remembering, an act of inscribing time, a way of participating in Being, and a way of negotiating competing claims for justice and acts of witnessing. Typical of Ricoeur's argumentation, the book sets out competing definitions (representation vs. recollection, explanation vs. understanding, phantasm and eikon, mnemevs. anamnesis, habit vs. memory, evocation vs. search, retention or primary memory vs. reproduction or secondary memory, reflexivity vs. worldliness, etc.). It does not resolve these oppositions, but painstakingly shows the aporias centralized in the opposition of terms and posits a tentative ethical response. Ricoeur is too smart to posit easy solutions to some of the most profound questions of human existence--mainly, what is history and how can it provide any foundations for knowledge and ethical action in the world? The erudition of this text is massive; Ricoeur references hundreds of theorists and philosophers from Plato to Foucault, from ontology to cognitive science. Predictably for those of us who have grown to respect the humanity of Ricoeur's position, the writing is never arrogant, never one-sided, always on the side of humane negotiation, life, human flourishing. In contrast to politicized polemics of academic historicist theory, this book recognizes, articulates, and teaches one about the almost overwhelming complexity of history as an idea, as a form of memory, and as evidence for witnessing and justice. In contrast to easy but hip pronouncements about the end of history, history as just another form of fiction, and history as "always political"--all implying that history is a tainted vehicle of ideological coercion that we can somehow do without--Ricoeur asks what else we *have* to connect our recollections of meaningful events to any kind of social action and collective sense of being.

If you want an education in some of the major positions in historiography, this book will give it to you, but it is no survey. It is a philosophical work, one that attempts to convey both the difficulty of the question and the necessary tenuousness of any real, ethical solution. Graduate students should be made to read this book if only to teach them what intellectual thought should look like--thought that works its way slowly and carefully through ideas instead of zooming through sources in order to construct a macrocosmic but sexy "new idea."

The incredible care with which analysis is conducted in each of this book's sections makes it impossible to summarize it meaningfully. Ricoeur wants to connect memory, history, and social remembrance in such a way that they avoid the easy, and often dangerous, sidetracks of commemoration or historicism as mere explanation. He wants a humanized history based in lived memory that can be used to create common ground between people as well as viable evidence in the negotiation of justice claims. Whether he gets this is debatable, but the attempt is honorable. ... Read more

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Originating in the Terry lectures at Yale university in the autumn of 1961, this book deals with Freud. It is not one of psyhology, but of philosophy. ... Read more

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very pleased with transaction
Very good and prompt service. Book was in excellent condition as described in the aid. Looking forwarding to purchasing more books on psychology and religion from Amazon.

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The True Freud
Apparently this book has been either forgotten or ignored. I can think of three reasons why it has languished in obscurity, since the publication of its English translation in 1970: 1. It is over 500 pages long; 2. It is incredibly dense; 3. It addresses a very specific and, some would say, out-moded subject--namely, the fundamentals of Freudian theory. If you are not really interested in Freud, you will not benefit from Ricoeur's exhaustive and painstaking analysis. Even analysts may be turned off by this work, as it is truly a "philosophical" interpretation of Freud's work. The ideal reader of this book, as far as I can tell, then, is someone like me. If, like me, you have read and loved the work of Lacan, you will find Ricoeur's take on Freud very helpful and informative. Ricoeur basically takes the Lacanian interpretation of Freud, including the focus on language and the critique of ego psychology and clarifies it. What is really strange about this is that Lacan's name is, for the most part, consigned to a few footnotes. (He is explicitly mentioned once in the text proper and there are a number of sly allusions to his ideas.) I don't know why Ricoeur is so careful to exclude the main source of his argument. The omission borders on plagiarism. If you read the 17th seminar, you will notice that Lacan makes a wry allusion to Ricoeur when he talks about naming your sources. Leaving this question aside, Ricoeur's book on Freud reads like a clear and capable exposition of Lacan. Ricoeur begins by outlining two kinds of hermeneutic methods, one demystifying (analytic/regressive), the other revelatory (synthetic/progressive).Freud, according to Ricoeur, falls into the first camp. However, Ricoeur promises to complicate this facile classification. The first part of the book places Freud's hermeneutic method in context. Ricouer compares him to the great demystifiers: Nietzsche and Marx. The second part, the "analytic," demonstrates that Freudian method centers around the interpretation of signifiers. The Freudian corpus is examined at length. Ricoeur's careful and methodical exposition here is impressive. He essentially demonstrates that Freud works backwards,always pointing to the lost origin as the site of truth. The really interesting tension of Freudian theory, Ricoeur argues, lies in the conjunction of energetics and hermeneutics. Clearly following Lacan, Ricoeur claims that terms such as condensation (metaphor) and displacement (metonymy) reveal the mixture of these two discourses. In the third section, Ricoeur completes his reading of Freud by demonstrating the implicit or tacit progressive dimension of his work. Essentially, Freud and Hegel are brought together (again, a truly Lacanian maneuver) to elaborate a full account of interpretation or the "symbol." Even though Freud always works backwards to reveal the regressive aspect of all human behavior, there is, according to Ricoeur, a kind of silent, progressive/Hegelian/dialectic narrative operating in his work as well. As I said at the start of this review, this book is long and exhaustive. One sometimes gets the sense that Ricoeur is relating everything he knows about Freud, which admittedly is a lot. There is much that appears unnecessary, but by the end, if you remain patient, you find that Ricoeur has had a clear purpose in mind. Ricoeur gives a plausible defense of the Lacanian intepretation of Freud, over and against the Freud of the ego psychologists. Freud is placed in the context of the great philosophers: Kant, Nietzsche, Spinoza, Hegel, etc. And finally, Freud is revealed as an original and radical theorist of the "symbol." ... Read more

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Paul Ricoeur was one of the most important philosophers of the twentieth century. In this short and accessible book, he turns to a topic at the heart of much of his work: What is translation and why is it so important?

Reminding us that The Bible, the Koran, the Torah and the works of the great philosophers are often only ever read in translation, Ricoeur reminds us that translation not only spreads knowledge but can change its very meaning. In spite of these risk, he argues that in a climate of ethnic and religious conflict, the art and ethics of translation are invaluable.

Drawing on interesting examples such as the translation of early Greek philosophy during the Renaissance, the poetry of Paul Celan and the work of Hannah Arendt, he reflects not only on the challenges of translating one language into another but how one community speaks to another. Throughout, Ricoeur shows how to move through life is to navigate a world that requires translation itself.

Paul Ricoeur died in 2005. He was one of the great contemporary French philosophers and a leading figure in hermeneutics, psychoanalytic thought, literary theory and religion. His many books include Freud and Philosophy and Time and Narrative.

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Important work on interpretation of texts
Paul Ricoeur's focus is interpretation--how to decipher texts.Language is ". . .itself the process by which private experience is made public."When we try to understand the author of a written text, we no longer have the immediate dialogue that we have with a person to whom we are speaking.As a result, we have a ". . .detachment of meaning from the event."In essence, we now must interpret the words in a piece of writing without being able to clarify them through dialogue with the author.

But how can we make sense of this alien written discourse, now separated from the mind of its author by the simple act of putting words to paper? First, the reader must take a guess!Ricoeur says:

"With writing, the verbal meaning of the text no longer coincides with the mental meaning of intention of the text.This intention is both fulfilled and abolished by the text, which is no longer the voice of someone present . The text is mute.An asymmetric relation obtains between text and reader, in which only one of the partners speaks for the two.The text is like a musical score and the reader like the orchestra conductor who obeys the instructions of the notation.Consequently, to understand is not merely to repeat the speech event in a similar event, it is to generate a new event beginning from the text in which the initial event has been objectified."

In other words, we have to guess the meaning of the text because the author's intention is beyond our reach.A musical metaphor:Listen to Wilhelm Furtwangler's World War II recording of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.Compare it with Arturo Toscanini's NBC Symphony Orchestra version a decade later.The tempos are slow to the breaking point in Furtwangler's reading--except for the latter portions of the fourth movement.Toscanini's interpretation maintains a tension in pace throughout (simply put, his is a "fast" version and Furtwangler's a "slow" one--until the latter's manic reading of the last segments of the fourth movement).The same notes on paper, but two very different guesses about Beethoven's meaning.Who is right in their reading of the text?How do we establish that?Since we cannot converse with Beethoven, can we ever know the "real" text, can we apprehend "reality," in a word?

Ricoeur does not believe that it is a hopeless situation.He believes that there are ways of validating our guesses.He claims that:

"An interpretation must not only be probable, but more probable than another interpretation.There are criteria of relative superiority for resolving this conflict, which can easily be derived from the logic of subjective probability."

In a sense, different interpretations that are advanced to describe the meaning of a text (and a text can be a work of art or the written word, for instance) must be compared and examined separately and against each other to see which seems to make the most sense.A kind of discourse takes place, perhaps analogous to two persons speaking, where they can concretely ground their speech.Some interpretations of Beethoven, like the Furtwangler performance, do violence to the structure of the symphony as a whole and are less compelling than others, such as Toscanini's version.

What about the relationship of the author to his or her reader(s)?Ricoeur points out that it becomes irrelevant what the author's original audience was and what the historical circumstances of the author were in creating a text.The meaning of a text is open to anyone who can read.The context in which the original words were composed has no special weight in our interpretation of that text.He notes that ". . .since the text has escaped its author and his situation, it has also escaped its original addresses."In a sense, the text belongs to anyone who can read it and interpret it in convincing ways.

To conclude, Ricoeur presents one argument about how we might read and interpret texts.Those who believe in "original intent," in trying to understand exactly what the authors of texts meant will be critical of this work.The value of works like this (and also note Gadamer's work, e.g., "Truth and Method") is that they challenge our efforts to understand the meaning of texts.By doing that, such works make us more self-reflective and critical in our own efforts to understand texts.

... Read more

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Paul Ricoeur is one of the giants of contemporary continental philosophy and one of the most enduring and wide-ranging thinkers in the twentieth century, publishing major works ranging from existentialism and phenomenology to psychoanalysis, politics, religion and the theory of language. Richard Kearney offers a critical engagement with the work of Ricoeur, beginning with a general introduction to his hermeneutic philosophy. Part one explores some of the main themes in Ricouer's thought under six headings: phenomenology and hermeneutics; language and imagination; myth and tradition; ideology and utopia; good and evil; poetics and ethics. The second part comprises five dialogical exchanges which Kearney has conducted with Ricoeur over the last three decades (1977-2003), charting and explaining his intellectual itinerary. This book is aimed at a broad student readership, as well as the general intelligent reader interested in knowing more about one of the most enduring major figures in contemporary continental philosophy. ... Read more

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Adapting Ricoeur to a social field model
[[ASIN:0754650189 On Paul Ricoeur: The Owl of Minerva (Transcending Boundaries in Philosophy and Theology) (Transcending Boundaries in Philosophy and Theology) (Transcending Boundaries in Philosophy and Theology)] Excellent for my purposes. Kearney links key Ricoeur ideas into subject chapters that make systemic inquiry more feasible for a non-philosopher.

An Amazing Study of and Engagement with Ricoeur
Paul Ricoeur is a philosophical and theological thinker whose scope and economy of writing is unmatched in this age.Still more, it is difficult to find philosophers and theologians who can adequately engage with him.That the author, Richard Kearney, was a former student of Ricoeur's still makes no guarantee that he can do so.But Kearney does, indeed.

Kearney's book is first class in this field of thinking on Ricoeur.I would consider it as important as any of Ricoeur's own books.Though it is not "critical", this books lays out a wonderful exposition of many of Ricoeur's points.In this sense, it is better than a critical approach which often puts the progect of critiquing before understanding what is being read or thought. ... Read more

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What is the origin of evil? Where does what we term evil come from? According to Paul Ricoeur, to think through evil is to think through fallibility; because human freedom is summed up as existence prior to evil. Deriving from a lecture given in Lausanne in 1985, this small text adds to the immense ouevre of this philosopher who is not regarded as a theologian but whose thinking readily shares some kinship with certain characteristics of Protestantism. The problem of evil was a question which dogged Paul Ricoeur throughout his reflection and his philosophical works.This is a man who has thought about vulnerability in moral evil with both an exemplary profundity and sensitivity.

Evil: A Challenge to Philosophy and Theology contains a new extended introduction by Graham Ward which reflects on the significance of Paul Ricoeur's approach to philosophy and to the question of evil for 20th-century theology and philosophy, and a preface by Pierre Gisel. ... Read more

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Tell your friends not to waste their time or money.
Bored to tears.

It's a wonder that some people develop a reputation as scholarly and profound.I thing people who give them this reputation are fearful of calling them and their works, "boring."

The book is currently on my pile of old newspapers and magazines which are being thrown away.

What good is wisdom if you can't communicate it?
Over the years, I've been to a boatload of academic conferences and listened to dozens of academic, highly professional papers in philosophy and theology.Too often, the papers are so specialized that only a handful of people in the world could possibly follow them.A not uncommon feeling walking out of a lecture room after hearing one of these papers is "huh?"

Reading (and re-reading, and re-reading yet again) Ricoeur's Evil was like walking out of those lecture rooms--which somehow seems appropriate, since the essay is the text of one of his lectures.Ricoeur at his best is irritatingly obscure.Here, he's maddeningly obtuse.I made the mistake of requiring this book in one of my classes, and none of my students--bright young people all--could figure out what Ricoeur was trying to say.Neither could I, actually.

In broad strokes, Ricoeur wants to claim that the experience of evil, either one's own or another's suffering, can never be demythologized, regardless of how strenuously we try to do so.Discourse about evil historically and psychologically has tended toward reductionism, moving from a mythic account, which simply accepts it as a given in life, to theodicy, which tries to explain it away.But the experience remains irreducible.

Okay.But if this is all Ricoeur is saying, it's neither terribly interesting nor original.What's at stake is why the experience of evil is irreducible, and for the life of me I can't figure out what Ricoeur's answer is.Nor is he clear in discussing the different levels of reductionistic discourse about evil.Especially impenetrable are his discussions of what he calls "the stage of gnosticism and anti-gnostic gnosis" (I don't even know what he intends the second term to mean) and Barth's negative dialectic.

In short, a maddening little book.Its subtitle is "A Challenge to Philosophy and Theology."Too right. ... Read more

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Paul Ricoeur is widely regarded as one of the most distinguished philosophers of our time. In The Rule of Metaphor he seeks 'to show how language can extend itself to its very limits, forever discovering new resonances within itself'. Recognizing the fundamental power of language in constructing the world we perceive, it is a fruitful and insightful study of how language affects how we understand the world, and is also an indispensable work for all those seeking to retrieve some kind of meaning in uncertain times. ... Read more

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For the Student of Geneologies
Ricoeur's Rule of Metaphor is the missing link for anyone truly interested in getting at the roots of semiotics, semantics and hermeneutics. For the student of Western Civilization's grammar and logical structure, it provides a genesis of postmodern critique.

Metaphor is the message
The problem is not that fiction shows itself to be a necessity for speculation (Ricoeur admits that it does) but that the distinctiveness between the fictions of art and the fictions of discourse/philosophy has been muddied by the exhaustion of both sets of metaphors. In other words, had we a language full of vital and living metaphors, we would then more easily recognize the distinctiveness of poetic and philosophic metaphor. He shows how Heidegger both acknowledges the distinction and then, in his attempts to step forward, slides down into the muddy waters where the distinction is lost. As a consequence, the later Heidegger shows the way only by his effort, not by his accomplishment.

Ricoeur published this in 1971. He uses Anglo-American philosophy of language extensively. I particularly enjoyed his ability to blend work in aesthetics beginning with Aristotle's Poetics down to some living philosophers who I did not know had published in that area. For instance, he locates in Nelson Goodman's reliance on "expression" in art (what we'd usually call 'style') a transcendent dimension (a 'more' than the sum of the elements in a work of art) as parallel with what in discourse might be called intention (I forget the exact word he used). But again, discourse then has its version of a transcendent dimension that communicates as the sense of the whole -- if a thinker manages to pull that off.

What was new to me (in addition to the recent scholarship on classical sources he used) was his thought. My impulse is to compare him unfavorably with Heidegger, by belittling Ricoeur's academic philosophy to Heidegger's existential declaration of the human condition. But he's just as good, in his own way. And while I could complain about his predisposition to work from within the respectable tradition of our western Judeo-Christian civilization (hence he remains 'God's' spokesman), he does not denigrate but uses the outstanding accomplishments of those for whom that tradition has become alien. ... Read more

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Symbolism of Evil is a Beacon Press publication.
... Read more

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No contemporary thinker has participated in more intellectual debates in the post-war period than Paul Ricoeur. His writings evolved from an initial concern with existentialism and phenomenology, through structuralism and psychoanalysis and the work he undertook within the hermenuetic tradition, to his recent studies in metaphor and narrative. This introduction is the first study to survey the entire range of Ricoeur's work and, exploiting the obvious thematic parallels, situates it within the context of post-structuralism. It includes the first discussion of Ricoueur's Time and Narrative, a work likely to prove the most significant contribution to the theory of narrative since early structuralism. ... Read more

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Will understanding our brains help us to know our minds? Or is there an unbridgeable distance between the work of neuroscience and the workings of human consciousness? In a remarkable exchange between neuroscientist Jean-Pierre Changeux and philosopher Paul Ricoeur, this book explores the vexed territory between these divergent approaches--and comes to a deeper, more complex perspective on human nature.

Ranging across diverse traditions, from phrenology to PET scans and from Spinoza to Charles Taylor, What Makes Us Think? revolves around a central issue: the relation between the facts (or "what is") of science and the prescriptions (or "what ought to be") of ethics. Changeux and Ricoeur ask: Will neuroscientific knowledge influence our moral conduct? Is a naturally based ethics possible? Pursuing these questions, they attack key topics at the intersection of philosophy and neuroscience: What are the relations between brain states and psychological experience? Between language and truth? Memory and culture? Behavior and action? What is a mental representation? How does a sign relate to what it signifies? How might subjective experience be constructed rather than discovered? And can biological or cultural evolution be considered progressive? Throughout, Changeux and Ricoeur provide unprecedented insight into what neuroscience can--and cannot--tell us about the nature of human experience.

Changeux and Ricoeur bring an unusual depth of engagement and breadth of knowledge to each other's subject. In doing so, they make two often hostile disciplines speak to one another in surprising and instructive ways--and speak with all the subtlety and passion of conversation at its very best. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Wonderful Idea - Falls A Little Short
This book presents a wonderful idea, conceptually: provide a dialogue between a neuroscientist, dedicated to a materialistic, monistic perspective on psychological phenomena, and a pseudo-existentialist, dedicated to a more holistic understanding of such phenomena.In its inception, this book lives up to this wonderful conceptualization.Still, as one reads on, it becomes apparent that the philosopher is far too maleable and, while providing some wonderful insights, falls quite short in following through on very essential counterarguments to those presented by the neuroscientist.In this one, the neuroscientist wins the debate, but not because he presents the best argumetns but because the philosopher fails to present the arguments he should have.While I recommend this book, I do so with the reservation that those who read it should invest in reading more from philosohers who have similar views as Ricouer so that they can develop the counter perspective that is not properly presented herein.

A Startling Encounter for those willing to do the work
This book will blow your mind, er, your brain. Um, well, which one is it?

This exchange between the Neuro-Scientist and the Philosopher is utterly gripping - but only if you are willing or caoable of the sustained concentration needed to acquire the sophisticated arguments and subtle differentiations that they each make. It is worth doing so.

In an age where scientistic triumphalism feels no need to explain itself, its methods, or its assumptions, to a public capable of understanding it (i.e., after the destruction of our education systems and the dumbing down used by the media and the government to prevent any meaningful "political" debate - i.e., the "political" as "that which concerns us all"), this book is some kind of touchstone - and a dozen similar books should be following it on a dozen different science/philosophy topics. For starters, who is informed enough at this level (which this wise people make so accessible to the willing reader) on: stem cell research, the origins of the universe, surveillance technologies, and so many other scientific "advances".

If this is the standard of public discourse in France, we are all sadly stupid in comparison.

We need such before we perish from our ignorance.

A Startling Encounter for those willing to do the work
This book will blow your mind, er, your mind. Um, well, which is it?

This exchange between the Neuro-Scientist and the Philosopher is utterly gripping - but only if you are willing or caoable of the sustained concentration needed to acquire the sophisticated arguments and subtle differentiations that they each make. It is worth doing so.

In an age where scientistic triumphalism feels no need to explain itself, its methods, or its assumptions, to a public capable of understanding it (i.e., after the destruction of our education systems and the dumbing down used by the media and the government to prevent any meaningful "political" debate - i.e., the "political" as "that which concerns us all"), this book is some kind of touchstone - and a dozen similar books should be following it on a dozen different science/philosophy topics. For starters, who is informed enough at this level (which this wise people make so accessible to the willing reader) on: stem cell research, the origins of the universe, surveillance technologies, and so many other scientific "advances".

If this is the standard of public discourse in France, we are all sadly stupid in comparison.

We need such before we perish from our ignorance.

Intelligent, disorganized, lively, pompous
The topic matter of this study--the interface between the sciences of neurobiology and philosophy as they try to resolve the mind-body problem of dualism vs. monism--is extremely promising, and the participants in the debate (Jean Changeux and Paul Ricouer) are eminetly qualified to attend to it. Their discussion is exciting and thoughtful, though it is marred by their lack of a common language (which seems to undermine their whole strategy from the beginning). They can't even agree at times on basic terms, and at times they try to cover these differences by engaging in an irritating exchange of name-dropping (thereby belying the claim on the book's dust jacket that this book is accessible to non-specialists--you're expected not only to know who Kant and Spinoza are and what they've said on the subject, but also the Churchlands, Eccles, etc.) and "mutual admiration society" overpraising of one another. You do come to learn the impasses in their respective disciplines in speaking to one another, but the book seems very scattershot and happenstance. It seems like a noble project that failed due to a lack of structure and to the participants' oversized egos. ... Read more

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Wow!
Clearly written, astounding, well-supported conclusions from incisive, explicative text, covering a subject that has tremendous interest for me. If you're interested in the nature of human being in the 21st century, this book is for you. I've never read anything by this guy before, now he's my favorite, right next to Deleuze and Foucault. ... Read more

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Paul Ricoeur is one of the most wide-ranging of thinkers alive today. Although nominally a philosopher, his work also cuts across the subjects of literary criticism, psychoanalysis, history, religion legal studies and politics.Its implications are even broader. Ricoeur works out a 'theory of reading' or hermeneutics, which extends far beyond the reading of literary works to build into a theory for the reading of 'life'. This volume looks at the contexts for Ricoeur's thought,his key ideas and their impact.These key ideas include: good and evil' hermeneutics, psychoanalysis, metaphor, narrative, ethics, politics and justice
... Read more

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Central ideas for critical engagement
Karl Simms' text on Paul Ricoeur is part of a recent series put out by the Routledge Press, designed under the general editorial direction of Robert Eaglestone (Royal Holloway, University of London), to explore the most recent and exciting ideas in intellectual development during the past century or so.To this end, figures such as Martin Heidegger, Sigmund Freud, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jacques Derrida, and other influential thinkers in critical thought are highlighted in the series, planned to include 21 volumes in all.

Simms' text, following the pattern of the others, includes background information on Ricoeur and its significance, the key ideas and sources, and Ricoeur's continuing impact on other thinkers.As the series preface indicates, no critical thinker arises in a vacuum, so the context, influences and broader cultural environment are all important as a part of the study, something with which Ricoeur would agree.

Why is Ricoeur included in this series?Ricoeur is a very wide-ranging thinker, whose influence has extended into psychology, history, politics, linguistics, literary analysis, philosophy, science, and theology (and even further afield).Ricoeur's intention behind the work is that of their being 'good', not in the sense of academic rigour or intellectual soundness (although these qualities are not overlooked), but rather, that they should be ethically good.Simms writes that Ricoeur is a philosopher of faith rather than a philosopher of suspicion, and this places him apart from many of his contemporaries.

Ricoeur is also an 'epigenetic' thinker - his thought is cumulative; he builds upon his previous works and influences.This is seen in the construction of this text.The key ideas identified by Simms are Good and Evil, Hermeneutics, Psychoanalysis, Metaphor, Narrative, Ethics, and finally Politics and Justice.As a reader who has studied theology, religion, philosophy and political science, the breadth of Ricoeur is particularly appealing.

One of the useful features of the text is the side-bar boxes inserted at various points.For example, during the discussion on Ricoeur's development of Good and Evil, there are brief discussions, set apart from the primary strand of the text, on Phenomenology, the Cartesian Cogito, Existentialism, and Orpheus, developing further these ideas should the reader not be familiar with them, or at least not in the way with which Ricoeur would be working with ideas derived from them.Each section on a key idea spans twenty to thirty pages, with a two-page summary concluding each, which gives a recap of the ideas (and provides a handy reference).

My first interest in Ricoeur developed out of an interest in narrative theology, and when tackling his massive 'Time and Narrative', I found it complex and exacting reading.Simms does a brilliant job at putting together the key points of Ricoeur's ideas on narrative, the importance and relationship of history and fiction, the ideas of prefiguration, configuration, and refiguration, and the hermeneutical circle between narratives and life into very accessible language.

The concluding chapter, After Ricoeur, highlights some key areas of development in relation to other thinkers, as well as points of possible exploration for the reader.Ricoeur's thought vis-à-vis Derrida (particularly with regard to metaphor), his thought with regard to Heidegger (especially his response to the idea of 'language being the master of man'), and his ideas as they apply to the reading of the Bible appropriately continue to challenge thinkers, and insure Ricoeur remaining a relevant figure in intellectual development.

As do the other volumes in this series, Simms concludes with an annotated bibliography of works by Ricoeur, works on Ricoeur, and even a video and website reference. ... Read more

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Paul Ricoeur is one of the foremost contemporary French philosphers whose work is focused on the uncovering the multiple meanings buried in a text. ... Read more

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A light in the darkness
Paul Ricoeur's conflict of interpretation represents the (I think successful) attempt to provide a way to get out of the deconstruction of the self operated by Freud and the Psychanalysis.

It also gives a great theory about the simbolic use of the language.

The text might results sometimes difficult to an unprepared reader. ... Read more

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One of the major intellectual figures of the 20th century, Paul Ricoeur has influenced a generation of thinkers. In the first philosophically informed biography of Ricoeur, student, colleague, and confidant Charles E. Reagan provides an unusually accessible look at both the philosophy of this extraordinary thinker and the pivotal experiences that influenced his development. 20 photos. ... Read more

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Ricoeur's Life and Work
The work of Paul Ricoeur, while brilliant, is often difficult to penetrate. Reagan's book helps the newcomer to Ricoeur's writing get through those difficulties to an understanding of the importance of his philosophy. Reagan is uniquely qualified to do this. He was Ricoeur's student and has remained his lifelong friend. Reagan's book offers highly readable summaries of some of Ricoeur's major works complemented with biographical details that put those works into the context of Ricoeur's life. If you are only going to buy one book about Ricoeur, this should be it ... Read more

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Brilliant
Ricoeur, who died in 2005, had an obscure type of fame, but one that will grow exponentially as his ideas are understood more and more. This mind-blowing volume takes Augustine's and Aristotle's views on time and synthesizes them into a position on how narrative works. Great stuff. ... Read more

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Excellent Book
The book mostly focuses on John Rawls' theory of justice, but Ricoeur does spend time on some other theories.It is well written and concise.The book can be a bit heavy, but will introduce you into ethical theory by giving you names of others that should be read as well.Tho

Inquiry
I am interested in corresponding with readers who have read both this book and Rendre justice au droit, Francois-Xavier Druet and Etienne Ganty (eds). ... Read more

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The thought of Paul Ricoeur continues its profound effect on theology, religious studies and biblical interpretation. The 28 papers contained in this volume constitute the most comprehensive overview of Ricoeur's writings in religion since 1970. Ricoeur's hermeneutical orientation and his sensitivity to the mystery of religious language offer fresh insight to the transformative potential of sacred literature, including the Bible. ... Read more

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ComprehensiveContemporary Theology
Ricoeur's work in the areas of hermeneutics and theology has been invaluable, and the essays contained in this book are particularly poignant and accessible. His work on Memory and Suffering alone make the book an excellent purchase, and every essay attests to the irreducible nature of God, Scripture, and Theology in a way few authors have done. An excellent work.

Pretty dense reading for the layman
I have read a lot of Ricoeur, mostly in the area of religion. I am not a professional philosopher, just an educated layman. This one contained a lot of material that was technical and I found myself glossing over whole paragraphs and pages to find the meat.The meat was there, as always, but not as much as in the Conflict of Interpretations, for instance. ... Read more