Ricoeur intellectual autobiography

If you have an interest in learning more about Paul Ricoeur but are just encountering him, here are a few ways in.

Biography

Two biographical works of note are Charles Reagan’s long essay on Ricoeur’s life story in Paul Ricoeur: His Life and his Work (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996), and François Dosse’s full-length biography, Paul Ricoeur: Les Sens d’une Vie (1913-2005) (Paris: La Découverte, 2008).

Be sure to get the 2008 edition – There was a less complete earlier edition published in 2001.

Reading Ricoeur

A good tip is to start with the essays. Ricoeur often summarized his major themes concisely in programmatic essays that are beautifully condensed and less involved in the secondary literature than the major works, which can be daunting.* Three notable anthologies of the essays are:

•The Philosophy of Paul Ricoeur: An Anthology of His Work, ed.

Charles E. Regan and David Stewart (Boston, Beacon Press, 1978).

•A Ricoeur Reader: