Paul Ricœur
Paul Ricœur was a prominent French philosopher, historian, and theologian, born on February 27, 1913, in Valence, France. Raised in a devout Protestant family, he faced personal loss early in life when his father died in World War I. Ricœur's academic journey began at the University of Rennes, followed by studies at the Sorbonne, culminating in a doctorate in 1950. His intellectual development was profoundly influenced by the works of Edmund Husserl and Gabriel Marcel.
During World War II, Ricœur served in the French army and was captured, spending five years as a prisoner of war. After the war, he held teaching positions at notable universities, including the University of Chicago. His philosophical contributions bridge phenomenology with contemporary movements such as structuralism and hermeneutics, focusing on language, interpretation, and the human experience. Major works include "Freedom and Nature," "Fallible Man," and "Oneself as Another." Ricœur received the John W. Kluge Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Human Sciences in 2004 and passed away on May 20, 2005. His legacy continues to influence discussions in philosophy, theology, and literary theory.
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Paul Ricœur
Philosopher
- Born: February 27, 1913
- Birthplace: Valence, France
- Died: May 20, 2005
- Place of death: Châtenay-Malabry, France
Biography
French philosopher, historian, and theologian Paul Ricœur was born in Valence, France, on February 27, 1913. His family was devoutly Protestant in a country that was predominantly Catholic. His father died during World War I when Ricœur was only two years old. He was thereafter raised by his aunt in Rennes, where he developed into a bookish, academically gifted young man. Following his graduation from the University of Rennes in 1932, he studied philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris; he received a master’s degree in 1935 and a doctorate in 1950.
Ricœur was drafted into the French army in 1939, and the following year his unit was captured by the Germans; he spent the next five years in a detention camp as a prisoner of war. After World War II, he taught at several universities, including the University of Strasbourg from 1945 to 1956, the University of Paris at Nanterre from 1956 to 1970, and the University of Chicago from 1971 to 1991.
Ricœur was greatly influenced by the works of the German philosopher Edmund Husserl and the French philosopher Gabriel Marcel. In his philosophical writings, Ricœur sought to act as an intermediary between the school of phenomenology and more contemporary movements such as structuralism, poststructuralism, hermeneutics, and semiotics. His focus was on linguistic and psychoanalytic theories of interpretation; he wrote mainly on language and semantics, the dialectical process, and biblical exegesis.
His book Le Volontaire et l’involontaire (1950; Freedom and Nature: The Voluntary and the Involuntary, 1966) deconstructed human choice into three aspects: decision, movement, and consent. It was the first volume in the three- volume Philosophie de la volonté (1950-1960). The other volumes, L’Homme faillible (1960; Fallible Man, 1966) and La Symbolique du mal (1960; The Symbolism of Evil, 1967), hermeneutically analyzed the existence and nature of evil. His other works include Histoire et vérité (1955; History and Truth, 1964 ), Le Conflit des interprétations: Essais d’herméneutique (1969; The Conflict of Interpretations: Essays in Hermeneutics, 1974), the three- volume Temps et récit (1983; Time and Narrative, 1984, 1986, 1988), and Soi-même comme un autre (1990; Oneself as Another, 1992).
Ricœur was awarded the second John W. Kluge Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Human Sciences on November 29, 2004. He died in Châtenay-Malabry, west of Paris, on May 20, 2005.