Dan Stiver presents the implications of Paul Ricoeur's hermeneutical philosophy for a postmodern theology by providing a comprehensive interpretation of Ricoeur and then applying Ricoeur's hermeneutical theory to biblical interpretation and theology. Stiver situates Ricoeur's contributions in the Yale-Chicago debate and shows how Ricoeur's textual theory provides a real alternative to George Lindbeck (on the one hand) and deconstruction (on the other).
Paul Ricoeur (1913-2005) has been heralded as one of the most notable philosophers of the twentieth century. Like a stone skipping across the philosophical pond, he would write a major work in one field, then move on to another. As a consequence, he is among the most inter-disciplinarian of philosophers whose work not only explores such areas as existentialism, phenomenology, hermeneutics, structuralism, psychoanalysis, metaphor, narrative, and political ethics; it also bridges the gulf between Continental and Anglo-American philosophy. Despite this diversity,one can identify continuous threads running through Ricoeur's work that make him a major representative of hermeneutical philosophy, developing it much further in a critical direction. One of the areas to which he contributed greatly, almost in passing, was the philosophy of religion, where he made notable contributions in the areas of symbol, metaphor and epistemology. Ricoeur's work has been appropriated in theology, but often in an indirect way. This book will help the reader grasp the breadth of a complex philosopher, indicating the increasing relevance and appropriation of Ricoeur's work in theology.
Paul Ricoeur (1913--2005) remains one of philosophy of religion's most distinctive voices. Ricoeur was a philosopher first, and while his religious reflections are very relevant to theology, Boyd Blundell argues that his philosophy is even more relevant. Using Ricoeur's own philosophical hermeneutics, Blundell shows that there is a way for explicitly Christian theology to maintain both its integrity and overall relevance. He demonstrates how the dominant pattern of detour and return found throughout Ricoeur's work provides a path to understanding the relationship between philosophy and theology. By putting Ricoeur in dialogue with current, fundamental, and longstanding debates about the role of philosophy in theology, Blundell offers a hermeneutically sensitive engagement with Ricoeur's thought from a theological perspective.
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.
This volume begins with a brief overview of the most important features of Ricoeur's philosophical journey accompanied by a number of studies on the subject. The second part of the study is devoted to other issues in Ricoeur's work based upon five critical exchanges with the author over the last 25 years.
Paul Ricoeur is one of the most influential philosophers alive today. This book draws primarily on his hermeneutic insights to address the fundamental question of how reference, truth, and meaning are related in the discourse of theology. Fodor defends the view that theological truth claims cannot be sustained without some appeal to the referential, or in Rocoeur's terminology "refigurative," potential intrinsic to our linguistic practices. By bringing the philosophical work of Ricoeur into mutually critical conversation with theology, particularly that of Hans Frei, the book underscores the importance of reference in assessing theological claims.
Reading Scripture with Paul Ricoeur is a unique volume in which twelve diverse contributors illuminate and analyze Paul Ricoeur’s personal religious faith and intellectual passion for Scripture. The co-editors, Joseph A. Edelheit and James F Moore, each studied with Ricoeur at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago and bring the perspectives of a rabbi and of a Lutheran pastor and theologian, respectively. This book engages topics such as translation, biblical hermeneutics, and prophecy, as well as specific scriptural passages: Cain and Abel, the Epistles, and a feminist reading of Rahab. It provides both students and scholars alike a new resource of reflections using Ricoeur’s scholarship to illuminate and model how Ricoeur read and taught.
In this important new book, Brian Gregor gives a comprehensive account of Paul Ricoeur's philosophy of religion, which focuses on the regeneration of human capability. Gregor documents the thinkers, movements, and themes that shaped Ricoeur's thought and gives a critical examination of Ricoeur's philosophical interpretation of religion.
When French philosopher Paul Ricoeur died in 2005, he bequeathed to the world a highly regarded, widely influential body of work which established him as one of the greatest thinkers of our time. He also left behind a number of unfinished projects that are gathered here and translated into English for the first time. Living Up to Death consists of one major essay and nine fragments. Composed in 1996, the essay is the kernel of an unrealized book on the subject of mortality. Likely inspired by his wife’s approaching death, it examines not one’s own passing but one’s experience of others dying. Ricoeur notes that when thinking about death the imagination is paramount, since we cannot truly experience our own passing. But those we leave behind do, and Ricoeur posits that the idea of life after death originated in the awareness of our own end posthumously resonating with our survivors. The fragments in this volume were written over the course of the last few months of Ricoeur’s life as his health failed, and they represent his very last work. They cover a range of topics, touching on biblical scholarship, the philosophy of language, and the idea of selfhood he first addressed in Oneself as Another. And while they contain numerous philosophical insights, these fragments are perhaps most significant for providing an invaluable look at Ricoeur’s mind at work. As poignant as it is perceptive, Living Up to Death is a moving testimony to Ricoeur’s willingness to confront his own mortality with serious questions, a touching insouciance, and hope for the future.
