Overview

The Symbolism of Evil is the final book in Ricoeur’s early trilogy on the will. While Freedom and Nature sets aside normative questions altogether and Fallible Man examines the question of what makes the bad will possible, here Ricoeur takes up the question of evil in its actuality. What is the nature of the will that has succumbed to evil? The question of evil resists reflection and remains inscrutable. This leads Ricoeur to proceed indirectly through a study of the abundant resources contained in symbols and myths. Symbols, as Ricoeur famously says, “give rise to thought” and thereby open up a field of meanings which help to inform a philosophical reflection on evil. This hermeneutics of symbols signals an important shift in Ricoeur’s philosophical trajectory which increasingly shifts to language and the various forms of discourse which harbor multiple meanings. The contributors to this volume highlight a wide range of important themes in Ricoeur’s treatment of the symbolics of evil that resonate with current topics in contemporary philosophy and religion.

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9781498587143

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Ricoeur has always considered the disconcerting and scandalous experience of evil as the richest source of interrogative thought and for this reason the question of evil occupies a central place within his whole work. In this third and last volume devoted to the Philosophy of the Will, Scott Davidson has assembled a very rich collection of chapters that highlight the significance and the profound originality of the Ricoeurian hermeneutics of the symbols and myths of evil. --Jean-Luc Amalric, Etudes Ricoeuriennes/Ricoeur Studies This companion to Ricoeur's Symbolism of Evil addresses the radical implications of his famous 'hermeneutic turn' in the 1960s. Editor, Scott Davidson, does an excellent job bringing together expert critical commentaries from both the first and second generation of Ricoeur scholars. It is a very welcome addition to the growing hermeneutic conversation. --Richard Kearney, Boston College

This Companion to Ricoeur's Symbolism of Evil addresses the radical implications of his famous 'hermeneutic turn' in the 1960s. Editor, Scott Davidson, does an excellent job bringing together expert critical commentaries from both the first and second generation of Ricoeur scholars. It is a very welcome addition to the growing hermeneutic conversation. --Richard Kearney, Boston College

Author Information

Scott Davidson is professor of philosophy at West Virginia University.

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