Paul Ricoeur, Philosophical Hermeneutics, and the Question of Revelation

Reviews / Votes

This book marks a welcome new engagement with Ricoeur's philosophy of religion. It convenes leading hermeneutic scholars in a fascinating exploration of the origins and implications of Ricoeur's thinking about revelation. -- Richard Kearney, Boston College 'Revelation': this key-note of many religions cannot be compared to a regolith miraculously collected from the surface of an asteroid and brought safely to earth for recovery by theologians. Christina Gschwandter's introduction and the following essays not only highlight Ricoeur's rejection of a monolithic and univocal concept of divine revelation and his life-long philosophical plea for a polyphonic and polysemic understanding, grounded upon the biblical texts, but also explore new issues regarding selfhood, forgiveness and resilience. In our world where the temptation of despair lurks everywhere, this book gives a new actuality to the question: 'What may we hope for?'" -- Jean Greisch, Institut Catholique de Paris, France Hermeneutics was traditionally concerned with the interpretation of sacred texts. This fine volume shows how Ricoeur stands in this tradition through his careful readings of the Bible. If he heeds the call of Karl Barth by taking revelation seriously, he tends to follow Rudolf Bultmann in his hermeneutic appropriation of revelation in which he recognizes texts that can be called revealed to the extent that they are revealing and revelatory about the human condition. This volume is itself most revealing in that it helps us understand how for Ricoeur, and our time more generally, religious symbols and narratives can give rise to thought. -- Jean Grondin, Professor of Philosophy, Universite de Montreal