Johann Michel - Böcker

Since the mid-twentieth century, Western societies have seen an unprecedented increase in movements, demands, and policies in favor of reparations. The historical catastrophes that shook the last century are both the immediate origin of this groundswell and its founding paradigm. The Reparable and the Irreparable: Being Human in the Age of Vulnerability places reparation within a wider contemporary context and describes it in its full anthropological depth. Repair is a global phenomenon that does not present itself in a unified way. Ideas of repair and reparation are expressed at different levels; for instance, one can mend a damaged object, heal a wound, redress an injury, or make amends for an offence. Johann Michel explores how repair and reparation tell us about human beings’ (natural) vulnerability, our (moral) fallibility, and our (social) incompleteness, but also about the many capabilities we draw upon to mitigate these shortcomings. It is from the heart of human finitude that repair and reparation draw meaning, and the irreparable—whether due to time or to a debt that can never be repaid—haunt any policy of reparation. Such are the challenges to be addressed by a philosophy of repair and reparation constructed in renewed dialogue with the social sciences.

In this important and original book, Johann Michel paves the way for a greater understanding of Paul Ricoeur's philosophy by exploring it in relation to some major figures of contemporary French thought—Bourdieu, Derrida, Deleuze, Foucault and Castoriadis.Although the fertile dialogue between Ricoeur and various structuralist thinkers is well documented, his position in relation to the post-structuralist movement is less-widely understood. Does Ricoeur's philosophy stand in opposition to post-structuralism in France or, on the contrary, is it in fact a unique variation of that movement? This book defends the latter statement. Michel speaks of post-structuralisms in the plural form and engages them in a dynamic confrontation between Ricoeur and his contemporaries in the French intellectual scene. The result is a better understanding of Ricoeur's thought and also of the distinctive issues that emerge through confrontation between Ricoeur and each of these post-structuralist thinkers.

In this important and original book, Johann Michel paves the way for a greater understanding of Paul Ricoeur's philosophy by exploring it in relation to some major figures of contemporary French thought—Bourdieu, Derrida, Deleuze, Foucault and Castoriadis.Although the fertile dialogue between Ricoeur and various structuralist thinkers is well documented, his position in relation to the post-structuralist movement is less-widely understood. Does Ricoeur's philosophy stand in opposition to post-structuralism in France or, on the contrary, is it in fact a unique variation of that movement? This book defends the latter statement. Michel speaks of post-structuralisms in the plural form and engages them in a dynamic confrontation between Ricoeur and his contemporaries in the French intellectual scene. The result is a better understanding of Ricoeur's thought and also of the distinctive issues that emerge through confrontation between Ricoeur and each of these post-structuralist thinkers.

When do we interpret? That is the question at the heart of this important new work by Johann Michel. The human being does not spend his time interpreting in everyday life. We interpret when we are confronted with a blurred, confused, problematic sense. Such is the originality of the author's perspective which removes the anthropological interdict that has hampered hermeneutics since Heidegger. Michel proposes an anthropology of homo interpretans as the first and founding principle of fundamental ontology (relating to the meaning of being) as well as of the theory of knowledge (relating to interpretation in the human sciences). He argues that the root of hermeneutics lies in ordinary interpretative techniques (explication, clarification, unveiling), rather than as a set of learned technologies applied to specific fields (texts, symbols, actions).

When do we interpret? That is the question at the heart of this important new work by Johann Michel. The human being does not spend his time interpreting in everyday life. We interpret when we are confronted with a blurred, confused, problematic sense. Such is the originality of the author's perspective which removes the anthropological interdict that has hampered hermeneutics since Heidegger. Michel proposes an anthropology of homo interpretans as the first and founding principle of fundamental ontology (relating to the meaning of being) as well as of the theory of knowledge (relating to interpretation in the human sciences). He argues that the root of hermeneutics lies in ordinary interpretative techniques (explication, clarification, unveiling), rather than as a set of learned technologies applied to specific fields (texts, symbols, actions).

This book reveals how hermeneutics has experienced unprecedented attention under the leadership of Heidegger, Gadamer and Ricoeur, after long being confined to a restricted field of disciplines focused on understanding discourse. The author confronts the following questions: What is understanding? How to interpret a work of art? Can we decipher nature? How to orient yourself in space?This monograph reveals how hermeneutics leaves the refuge of erudition to become a new field of philosophical exploration centered on the life of the spirit, on modes of existence and on traditions. It proposes an in-depth renewal of hermeneutics through a close dialogue with semiotics, pragmatism and the social sciences with the aid of three guiding ideas. The first, anthropological, makes interpretation a fundamental activity of humans in their ordinary activities, before making it a set of techniques in the service of scientific knowledge. The second, pragmatist, reserves interpretation for a reflective understanding confronted with problematic meanings. The third, epistemological, extends the field of investigation of hermeneutics beyond the text (nature, others, space, the work of art, the social world, etc.). Alongside researchers, this book serves as an advanced introduction to the field and appeals to upper undergraduates and graduate students.