Hermeneutics and Phenomenology in Paul Ricoeur: Between Text and Phenomenon (original) (raw)

It could be said that Ricoeur's thought is placed under a twofold demand: between the rigor of the text and the requirements of the phenomenon. The rigor of the text calls for fidelity to what the text actually says, while the requirement of the phenomenon is established by the Husserlian call to return "to the things themselves". As Ricoeur's hermeneutic phenomenology reminds us, these two movements are reconcilable. There is a hermeneutic component of phenomenology, just as there is a phenomenological component of hermeneutics. The chapters in this book reflect on this double movement that proceeds from the text to the phenomenon and from the phenomenon back to the text.