Philosophy is a form of knowledge of the world, and each has its own. There are people who are trying to convey philosophy to others through speeches and essays, and in this article we will discuss the life of one philosopher.
Twentieth century philosophers
Philosophy, like history and literature, is conventionally divided into centuries, but many philosophers still remain our contemporaries (Plato, Kant or Descartes). However, time does not stand still, there is development in many areas, and people have to adapt and adapt to it. Therefore, new directions arise in various fields, including philosophy (phenomenology, neo-Marxism, structuralism, neopositivism, etc.), and accordingly there are philosophers who want to convey the essence of these areas - Theodore Adorno, Michel Foucault, Paul Ricoeur, Bertrand Russell et al. Consider the life and work of one of them.
Paul Ricoeur: biography
In 1913, on February 27, one of the most famous philosophers of the 20th century was born in Valencia. 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 World War I. His teachers were grandfather and grandmother (father's parents), who were Protestants and belonged to a religious minority, which was very noticeable in Catholic France and influenced the life of little Paul.
Ricker received his primary education by studying the Bible and going to church services. Then Paul was able to enter the University of Rennes, then he entered the University of 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 to translate the Ideas of Husserl (the German philosopher who founded the phenomenological school).
After 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 92 in his home in France, this happened in 2005 when he fell asleep and no longer woke up.
The personal life of the philosopher
An 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 Lying 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. Ricoeur’s wife died shortly before the death of the philosopher.
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 is the knowledge of man as the foundation on which his life is built. How to create this foundation, from what to build it, if you do not resort to the chemical processes of the brain, that was the main task. The main tehiz, which was formulated by philosophers, is that any knowledge is a phenomenon (phenomenon) 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: you can interpret the world as well as interpret the text using certain models.
For example, in hermeneutics there was such a thing as a hermeneutic circle - to understand and interpret any phenomenon and event, you need to know its separate parts (i.e., to understand the intent of a literary work, you need to know and understand the sentences that make up the text) , the same thing should happen in life: find the reason why an event occurred, get to the bottom of it, disassemble it into parts, etc.
This direction and its research methods are used in social theory, in literature and aesthetics.
Ricker believed that phenomenology and hermeneutics are inextricably linked, the first direction explores the perception of reality, the second interprets the texts. Those. we perceive the world in a certain way, and then we interpret it in our opinion, organizing our world. Texts are all that surrounds us, memory, language, word, faith, history. All this is human experience and objects of perception.
Paul Ricoeur: Interesting Facts
Ricker lived a long life, born at the beginning of the 20th century, having survived two world wars and having been in captivity, died on 92 in the 21st century. He saw a lot and understood a lot, always tried to convey his views to people, teaching at universities and creating literature on philosophy. There are several interesting facts that show how versatile his life was.
When Paul Ricoeur was in captivity, he continued to work and began to translate Husserl. The camp was full of intellectual life - lectures and seminars were held, and later this place became an educational institution.
In 1969, he was appointed dean at the University of Nantar and worked for two years. But after he was between two fires: politics and bureaucracy, he accepted the offer of the University of Chicago and went to work there for more than 20 years.
At 91 years of age, he received a prize for achievement in the humanities.
Ricker was a very competent 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.
Field Ricoeur Awards
In 2000, Riker became a laureate of Kyoto, an award that is awarded once 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 as an analogue of the Nobel Prize.
The main works of the philosopher
More than 10 works 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, thorough work was carried out to collect materials, because it could not be otherwise, that was exactly what Paul Ricoeur believed. A photo of him can be seen on the Internet and in our article, but to get acquainted with the works is best, holding a book in his hands, to understand the meaning.
The first essay was created in 1947 and was called "Gabriel Marcel and Karl Jaspers," and he released the latest 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: in order to comprehend evil, you need to know myths and understand symbolism, and it was then that he became interested in this direction, creating several works that brought him fame. He wrote books such as “Conflict of Interpretations” and “Theory of Interpretations”, studied the works of Plato and Aristotle, and from 1983 to 1985 published the three-volume “Time and Story”, exploring various theories of 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 quotes are relevant, you just need to read a few and think:
“Every tradition lives on interpretation.”
“The unity of human speech is a problem today.”
"Silence reveals to the listener the whole world."
"To think is to go deep."