Paul Ricoeur’s Hermeneutics of the Self and Pastoral Theological Anthropology

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper pursues an understanding of Paul Ricoeur's concept of the self and its implications for pastoral theological anthropology. As a philosopher whose main concern is the phenomenological hermeneutics, Ricoeur took a profound interest in narrative and selfhood. The main portion of this paper is devoted to depicting a contour of Ricoeur's hermeneutics of the self. In order for this goal, first, I present Ricoeur's theory of text interpretation. For Ricoeur, interpretation is not an inquiry of the text through imposing our finite capacity for understanding upon the text, but exposing ourselves to the text and receiving from it an enlarged self. Second, I deal with Ricoeur's understanding of the narrative identity. Inquiring into narrative is pivotal for Riceour, since he thinks that narrative is the mediator which leads us to the hermeneutical understanding of life, self, or identity. In this section, I point out Ricoeur's appropriation of time, plot, mimesis, and identity. Third, I present Ricoeur's hermeneutics of the self. In this part, I aim to suggest the self as the focal theme of Ricoeur's hermeneutic theory. Ricoeur denotes that it is the self that will be changed and enlarged through the process of text interpretation. Based on my understanding of Ricouer's concept of the self, in conclusion, I conceive some implications for pastoral theological anthropology confronted with the challenges of postmodernity in which the self has been forced to give up its solid and permanent foundation.

참고문헌 (Reference)

1 Ricoeur, Paul, "Time and Narrative vol. 3" The University of Chicago Press 1988

2 Ricoeur, Paul, "Time and Narrative vol. 1" The University of Chicago Press 1984

3 Stiver, Dan R., "Theology after Ricoeur: New Directions in Hermeneutical Theology" Westminster John Knox Press 2001

4 Thiselton, Anthony C., "The Two Horizons: New Testament Hermeneutics and Philosophical Description" Paternoster Press 1980

5 Ricoeur, Paul, "The Symbolism of Evil. translated by Emerson Buchanan" Beacon Press 1967

6 Jeong, Youn Deuk, "The Idiomatic Self: A Pastoral Theological Response to the Crisis of the Self-in-Community in the Korean Context" Princeton Theological Seminary 2006

7 Ricoeur, Paul, "The Course of Recognition. translated by David Pellauer" Harvard University Press 2005

8 Simms, Karl, "Paul Ricoeur" Routledge 2003

9 Ricoeur, Paul, "Oneself as Another. translated by Kathleen Blamey" The University of Chicago Press 1992

10 Thiselton, Anthony C., "New Horizons in Hermeneutics: The Theory and Practice of Transforming Biblical Reading" Zondervan Publishing House 1992

11 Ricoeur, Paul, "Memory, History, Forgetting" The University of Chicago Press 2004

12 Ricoeur, Paul, "Life in Quest of Narrative, In On Paul Ricoeur: Narrative and Interpretation" Routledge 1991

13 Ricoeur, Paul, "Interpretation Theory: Discourse and the Surplus of Meaning" Texas Christian University Press 1976

14 Venema, Henry Isaac, "Identifying Selfhood: Imagination, Narrative, and Hermeneutics in the Thought of Paul Ricoeur" State University of New York Press 2000

15 Ihde, Don, "Hermeneutic Phenomenology: The Philosophy of Paul Ricoeur" Northwestern University Press 1971

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17 Ricoeur, Paul, "Freud and Philosophy: An Essay on Interpretation. translated by Denis Savage" Yale University Press 1970

18 Ricoeur, Paul, "Essays on Biblical Interpretation" Fortress Press 1980