A Companion to Ricoeur's The Symbolism of Evil

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The Symbolism of Evil is the final book in Ricoeurs 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 Ricoeurs 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 Ricoeurs treatment of the symbolics of evil that resonate with current topics in contemporary philosophy and religion.

Reviews

"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. "

Author Bio

Scott Davidson is professor of philosophy at West Virginia University.