Philosopher Paul Ricoeur: biography and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

Philosophy is a form of knowledge of the world, and everyone has their own. There are people who try to convey philosophy to others through speeches and writings, and this article will tell about the life of one philosopher.

Twentieth century philosophers

Philosophy, like history and literature, is conditionally divided into centuries, but many philosophers are still our contemporaries (Plato, Kant or Descartes). However, time does not stand still, there is development in many areas, and people have to adjust and adapt to this. Therefore, new trends appear in various fields, including philosophy (phenomenology, neo-Marxism, structuralism, neo-positivism, etc.), respectively, and philosophers appear who want to convey the essence of these trends - Theodor Adorno, Michel Foucault, Paul Ricoeur, Bertrand Russell et al. Consider the life and work of one of them.

Paul Ricoeur: biography

In 1913, in Valencia on February 27, one of the most famous philosophers of the 20th century was born. His name is Paul Ricoeur. He was orphaned early, his mother died almost immediately after his birth, and his father, who was an English teacher, died at the front during the First World War. His tutors were grandparents(father's parents), who were Protestant and belonged to a religious minority, which was very noticeable in Catholic France and influenced the life of little Paul.

Reeker received his primary education by studying the Bible and going to church services. Then Paul was able to enter the university in Rennes, then he entered the university at the Sorbonne, and after graduation he began to teach philosophy at the Lyceum.

When the Second World War began, Paul became a soldier in the French army, and was soon captured, but was able to continue his work and began translating the Ideas of Husserl (the German philosopher who founded the phenomenological school).

After the end of the war, Paul Ricoeur was able to return to teaching: first it was the University of Strasbourg, then the Sorbonne, and then the University of Nanterre. In 1971, he became a professor at the University of Chicago, and at the same time taught at Yale.

Paul Ricoeur died at the age of 92 in his home in France, it happened in 2005, when he fell asleep and never woke up.

Personal life of a philosopher

The outstanding philosopher of the 20th century was Paul Ricoeur. His personal life took shape when he was only 22 years old, but he met his wife as a child, and for many years they were just friends. Simone Lezha gave birth to her husband 5 children: 4 sons and one daughter. They lived together for many years, raising children and then grandchildren. Unfortunately, one son committed suicide in the mid-80s, the rest are still alive. Riker's wife died shortly before her deathphilosopher.

Philosophical direction

Paul Ricoeur is a philosopher and follower of phenomenology, which appeared in Germany in the early 1910s. The main problem that stood in this direction was the knowledge of a person as the foundation on which his life is built. How to create this foundation, from what to build it, if not to resort to the chemical processes of the brain, that was the main task. The main theory that was formulated by philosophers is that any knowledge is a phenomenon (phenomena) in the human mind.

Paul Ricoeur went further and developed the idea of such a direction as hermeneutics, which was a continuation of phenomenology, but expressed through language. The main thesis was formulated as follows: one can interpret the world in the same way as one can interpret the text with the help of certain models.

For example, in hermeneutics there was such a thing as a hermeneutic circle - in order to understand and interpret any phenomenon and event, you need to know its individual parts (i.e., to understand the intention of a literary work, you need to know and understand sentences, of which the text consists), the same should happen in life: find the reason why this or that event happened, get to the bottom, taking it apart, etc.

This direction and its research methods are used in social theory, literature and aesthetics.

Riker believed that phenomenology and hermeneutics are inextricably linked, the first directionexplores the perception of reality, the second - interprets texts. Those. we perceive the world in a certain way, and then we interpret it in our own way, organizing our world. Texts are everything that surrounds us, memory, language, word, faith, history. These are all human experiences and objects of perception.

Paul Ricoeur: interesting facts

Riker lived a long life, born at the beginning of the 20th century, survived two world wars and having been in captivity, died at 92 in the 21st century. He saw a lot and understood a lot, he always tried to convey his views to people, teaching at universities and creating literature on philosophy. There are some interesting facts that show how versatile his life was.

When Paul Ricoeur was in captivity, he continued to work and started translating Husserl. The camp had a rich intellectual life - lectures and seminars were held, and later this place became an educational institution.

In 1969 he was appointed dean of Nantar University and served for two years. But after being caught between two fires: politics and bureaucracy, he accepted an offer from the University of Chicago and went to work there for more than 20 years.

At 91, he received the Humanities Achievement Award.

Riker was a very literate person and wrote many works on the phenomenon of human life, while covering completely different areas: language, symbols, signs, psychology, religion, literature and history, good and evil.

Paul Ricoeur Awards

BIn 2000, Ricoeur became the winner of the Kyoto Prize, which is awarded every 4 years in three areas - basic sciences, philosophy and advanced technologies.

In 2004 he received the Kluge Prize for his work in the humanities. This award is considered by many to be similar to the Nobel Prize.

The main works of the philosopher

More than 10 works were created by the philosopher in different periods of his life. Some were released over 50 years ago, others at an advanced age. But before the world saw them, a thorough work was carried out to collect materials, because it could not be otherwise, that was exactly what Paul Ricoeur believed. His photo can be seen on the Internet and in our article, but it is best to get acquainted with the works, holding a book in your hands, to understand the underlying meaning.

The first composition was created in 1947 and was called "Gabriel Marcel and Karl Jaspers", and at the latest he released in 2004, calling it "The Way of Recognition".

In 1960, Ricoeur worked on the two-volume Philosophy of Will, it was during this period that he came to the direction of hermeneutics, when it was necessary to study the concept of evil. Paul believed that in order to comprehend evil, you need to know the myths and understand the symbolism, and it was then that he became interested in this direction, creating several works that brought him fame. He wrote such books as "The Conflict of Interpretations" and "Theory of Interpretations", studied the works of Plato and Aristotle, in 1983 to 1985 he published the three-volume "Time and Story",exploring different theories from different times.

Famous philosopher quotes

Paul Ricoeur was an outstanding philosopher of his time. After many years, his works will also be in demand, and the quotes are relevant, you just have to read a few and think:

"Every tradition lives on through interpretation."

"The unity of human speech is a problem today."

"Silence opens up the whole world to the listener."

"Thinking means going deep."