A Passion for the Possible: Thinking with Paul Ricoeur (Perspectives in Continental Philosophy)

Paul Ricoeur's entire philosophical project narrates a "passion for the possible" expressed in the hope that in spite of death, closure, and sedimentation, life is opened by superabundance, by how the world gives us much more than is possible. Ricoeur's philosophical anthropology is a phenomenology of human capacity, which gives onto the groundless ground of human being, namely, God. Thus the story of the capable man, beginning with original goodness held captive by a servile will and ending with the possibility of liberation and regeneration of the heart, underpins his passion for the more than possible. The essays in this volume trace the fluid movement between phenomenological and religious descriptions of the capable self that emerges across Ricoeur's oeuvre and establish points of connection for future developments that might draw inspiration from this body of thought. Introduction: How Much More Than The Possible? / Henry Isaac Venema -- Asserting Personal Capacities And Pleading For Mutual Recognition / Paul Ricoeur -- Religious Belief: The Difficult Path Of The Religious / Paul Ricoeur -- Remembering Paul Ricoeur / David Pellauer -- Capable Man, Capable God / Richard Kearney -- The Source Of Ricoeur's Double Allegiance / Henry Isaac Venema -- The Golden Rule And Forgiveness / Gaëlle Fiasse -- Toward Which Recognition? / Jean Greisch -- Paul Ricoeur And Development Ethics / David M. Kaplan -- Narrative Matters Among The Mlabri: Interpretive Anthropology In International Development / Ellen A. Herda -- The Place Of Remembrance: Reflections On Paul Ricoeur's Theory Of Collective Memory / Jeffrey Andrew Barash -- Refiguring Virtue / Boyd Blundell -- Emplotting Virtue: Narrative And The Good Life / Brian Treanor -- Preserving The Eidetic Moment: Reflections On The Work Of Paul Ricoeur / David Rasmussen. Edited By Brian Treanor And Henry Isaac Venema. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Content: Introduction: how much more than the possible? / Henry Isaac Venema -- Asserting personal capacities and pleading for mutual recognition / Paul Ricoeur -- Religious belief: the difficult path of the religious / Paul Ricoeur -- Remembering Paul Ricoeur / David Pellauer -- Capable man, capable God / Richard Kearney -- The source of Ricoeur's double allegiance / Henry Isaac Venema -- The golden rule and forgiveness / Gaëlle Fiasse -- Toward which recognition? / Jean Greisch -- Paul Ricoeur and development ethics / David M. Kaplan -- Narrative matters among the Mlabri: interpretive anthropology in international development / Ellen A. Herda -- The place of remembrance: reflections on Paul Ricoeur's theory of collective memory / Jeffrey Andrew Barash -- Refiguring virtue / Boyd Blundell -- Emplotting virtue: narrative and the good life / Brian Treanor -- Preserving the eidetic moment: reflections on the work of Paul Ricoeur / David Rasmussen. Contents 7 Acknowledgments 9 A Passion for the Possible 11 Introduction 13 Asserting Personal Capacities and Pleading for Mutual Recognition 34 Religious Belief 39 Remembering Paul Ricoeur 53 Capable Man, Capable God 61 The Source of Ricoeur脤s Double Allegiance 74 The Golden Rule and Forgiveness 89 Toward Which Recognition? 102 Paul Ricoeur and Development Ethics 124 Narrative Matters among the Mlabri 141 The Place of Remembrance 159 Refiguring Virtue 170 Emplotting Virtue 185 Preserving the Eidetic Moment 202 Notes 209 Contributors 237 Index of Names 241 Perspectives in Continental Philosophy 245