Paul Ricoeur Between Theology and Philosophy

by Blundell, Boyd

• ISBN13: 9780253221902
• ISBN10: 0253221900
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-05-04
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

Paul Ricoeur (1913--2005) remains one of philosophy of religion's most distinctive voices. While Ricoeur claimed he was a philosopher first, his religious reflections show him to be more theological than he acknowledged. Using Ricoeur's own hermeneutics, Boyd Blundell argues that there is a way for explicitly Christian theology to maintain both its integrity and overall relevance. He demonstrates how the dominant pattern of detour and return found throughout Ricoeur's work provides a path to understanding the relationship between philosophy and theology. By putting Ricoeur in dialogue with current, fundamental, and longstanding debates about the role of philosophy in theology, Blundell offers a hermeneutically sensitive engagement with Ricoeur's thought from a theological perspective.

Author Biography

Paul Ricoeur (1913-2005) remains one of philosophy of religion's most distinctive voices. Ricoeur was a philosopher first, and while his religious reflections are very relevant to theology, Boyd Blundell argues that his philosophy is even more so. Using Ricoeur's own philosophical hermeneutics, Blundell shows that there is a way for explicitly Christian theology to maintain both its integrity and overall relevance. He demonstrates how the dominant pattern of detour and return found throughout Ricoeur's work provides a path to understanding the relationship between philosophy and theology. By putting Ricoeur in dialogue with current, fundamental, and longstanding debates about the role of philosophy in theology, Blundell offers a hermeneutically sensitive engagement with Ricoeur's thought from a theological perspective.
Boyd Blundell is Assistant Professor of Ethics in the Department of Religious Studies at Loyola University, New Orleans.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments	p. ix
Abbreviations	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
The Main Road
Fundamental Loyalties	p. 15
Theology, Hermeneutics, and Ricoeur's Double Life	p. 32
Detour
Prefiguration: The Critical Arc and Descriptive Identity	p. 57
Configuration: The Narrative Arc and Narrative Identity	p. 81
Refiguration: Riceour' ôLittle Ethicsö	p. 105
Return
Chalcedonian Hermeneutics	p. 131
Theological Anthropology: Removing Brackets	p. 150
Conclusion	p. 171
Notes	p. 179
Works Cited	p. 201
Index	p. 211
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