Hermeneutics and the Human Sciences: Essays on Language, Action and Interpretation

This is a collection in translation of essays by Paul Ricoeur which presents a comprehensive view of his philosophical hermeneutics, its relation to the views of his predecessors in the tradition and its consequences for the social sciences. The volume has three parts. The studies in the first part examine the history of hermeneutics, its central themes and the outstanding issues it has to confront. In Part II, Ricoeur’s own current, constructive position is developed. A concept of the text is formulated as the implications of the theory are pursued into the domains of sociology, psychoanalysis and history. Many of the essays appear here in English for the first time; the editor’s introduction brings out their background in Ricoeur’s thought and the continuity of his concerns. The volume will be of great importance for those interested in hermeneutics and Ricoeur’s contribution to it, and will demonstrate how much his approach offers to a number of disciplines.

Acknowledgements; Editor’s introduction; Notes on editing and translating; A response Paul Ricoeur; Part I. Studies in the History of Hermeneutics: 1. The task of hermeneutics; 2. Hermeneutics and the critique of ideology; 3. Phenomenology and hermeneutics; Part II. Studies in the Theory of Interpretation: 4. The hermeneutical function of distanciation; 5. What is a text? Explanation and understanding; 6. Metaphor and the central problem of hermeneutics; 7. Appropriation; Part III. Studies in the Philosophy of Social Science: 8. The model of the text: meaningful action considered as a text; 9. Science and ideology; 10. The question of proof in Freud’s psychoanalytic writings; 11. The narrative function; Notes; Select bibliography; Index.

‘The essays which John Thompson has assembled under the title Hermeneutics and the Human Sciences are all taken from Ricoeur’s recent work … The essays have been chosen with care, and the volume has the benefit of an extensive introduction by its editor. It offers a comprehensive and integrated conspectus of Ricoeur’s ideas … I do not think that anyone would fail to find illumination and challenge in reading him.’

– Anthony Giddens, The Times Literary Supplement