Paul Ricoeur and the Poetic Imperative

W. David Hall is Assistant Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Centre College and coeditor (with John Wall and William Schweiker) of Paul Ricoeur and Contemporary Moral Thought.

"…offers a well-argued and illuminating discussion of Ricoeur's ethical project … Hall's substantial contribution to Ricoeurian scholarship is especially relevant for readers interested in Ricoeur's theological ethics, ethical hermeneutics, and dialectics of experience." — Conversations in Religion and Theology"Hall draws out insights on ethics, selfhood, and a host of other topics from Ricoeur's entire career, making this a worthwhile book for theologians and philosophers interested in hermeneutics, phenomenology, and related subjects." — Religious Studies Review"W. David Hall offers a finely textured portrayal of Paul Ricoeur's writings as a thematic unity of hermeneutical phenomenology, philosophical anthropology, and theological poetics. Of singular importance is the author's sustained argument that Ricoeur's theological texts provide an often overlooked context for understanding his wider philosophical project." — Calvin O. Schrag, author of Convergence amidst Difference: Philosophical Conversations across National Boundaries

• Acknowledgments1. IntroductionSituated ReadingInterpretational Structure2. Agency: The Structures of SelfhoodThe Structure of AgencyCapability: The Voluntary and the InvoluntaryIdentity: Idem and IpseAttestation: Acting and Suffering Selves3. Meaning: The Narrative Configuration of ExistenceThe Configuration of MeaningUnderstanding: Active ReceptivityPossibility: Actuality and PotentialityAffirmation: A Hermeneutics of Meaningful Existence4. Practice: Practical Experience and Moral ConcernPractical ExperienceResponsibility: Imputation and SolicitudeEthics: Power and ViolenceWitness: Conviction and Fidelity5. Conscience: Conviction and Fidelity in Theological PerspectiveThe Testimony of ConscienceBasic Structures: The Logic of Equivalence and the Logic of SuperabundanceConfiguration: The Golden Rule and the Love CommandExperience: Autonomy and Theonomy6. The Economy of the Gift and the Poetic ImperativeThe Economy of the GiftLove and JusticeThe Poetic ImperativeNotesBibliographyIndex