My Father Was Not My Father: An Attempted Understanding Thorough a Ricoeurian Lens

Abstract

In my PhD studies I was honoured to have been introduced to the scholar Paul Ricoeur, whose work became central to my dissertation topic. In this paper, I share the ways in which Ricoeur’s conceptualizations of hermeneutic application to the human existence came to life for me. I use an existential event, discovering non-biological parentage, to bring forth my understanding of these concepts. Ricoeur’s solicitation of the hermeneutic practice allowed me to see family events in a new light. It is my hope through my application of Ricoeur’s work that others will interpret existential life events in new and exciting ways.  Keywords: narrative-identity, Ricoeur, self-understanding, temporality

Keywords

• hermeneutics
• existential
• narrative self