Ricoeur, Paul. Oneself as Another . Translated by Kathleen Blamey. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992.
Here, the "other" is not a threat to the self but the very condition of its ethical flourishing. The self reaches its highest point not in solitary contemplation but in solicitude —friendship and care for the other.
The title of the book holds the deepest clue to Ricoeur's philosophy. The phrase "Oneself as Another" implies two crucial things: paul ricoeur oneself as another pdf
Ricoeur challenges the classic philosophical focus on "Why?"
The final chapters of Oneself as Another transition from the ontology of the self into ethics and morality. Ricoeur synthesizes the two greatest traditions in ethical philosophy: Aristotle’s teleological ethics (focused on the good life) and Immanuel Kant’s deontological morality (focused on obligation and duty). Ricoeur, Paul
Paul Ricoeur’s Oneself as Another remains a towering achievement because it rejects both the absolute Cartesian ego ("I think, therefore I am") and the total destruction of the self proposed by postmodernism. Instead, Ricoeur offers a middle path: a capable, vulnerable human being who discovers who they are through narrative, responsibility, and deep communion with others. If you are looking to deepen your research, let me know:
The book moves systematically from the philosophy of language to action, and finally to ethics. Do not get discouraged if the linguistic studies in the early chapters feel dry; they are necessary to set up his explosive later arguments about the self and the other. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992
The interplay between these two poles is at the core of Ricoeur's project. He does not present them as a binary opposition but as a , where each pole informs and complicates the other. This dialectic is what allows for a coherent understanding of how we can change profoundly over the course of a lifetime and yet still be considered the same person.
The title itself, Oneself as Another , is a profound ethical statement. Ricœur argues that the "self" cannot exist in a vacuum. To say "self" is to imply a relationship with "another." He defines the "ethical aim" of human life as:
Ricoeur’s ultimate example of ipse -identity is the act of keeping a promise. When you keep a promise made years ago, your physical body ( idem ) has changed, and your desires may have shifted, but your selfhood ( ipse ) maintains fidelity to the commitment. It is identity maintained through responsibility, not through unchanging matter. Narrative Identity: The Bridge Between Idem and Ipse
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