Ruminations on Ricoeur’s Dealings with the Self

Abstract

If there is one fact about the Self, it is multifarious and diverse. Paul Ricoeur has dab-bled with the notion almost all his entire academic life. And it seems the understanding of it increases. On one hand the self is fallible - it is limited, apparently singled out as a cause of demise for the person. And yet the Self is also the pinnacle of one’s person-hood, almost a “savior-like” anthem within the person. Again, the notions seem much varied.

And yet the Self is crucial to personhood. Ricoeur mentions that the “who” of the per-son is an aspect that the self can explain. And from this one can only imagine how the significant “other” can be just as important as the Self. The person does not move merely by instinct nor impulse; rationality stirs the Self towards liberation from bondage and ignorance. Yet it starts with the Self.

Now what does that Self do? To put it succinctly, it is a rather an active participant in a person’s daily life. It is not entirely stagnant nor too active. It seeks docility in order to arrive at the question: Who am I? Indeed, who is the human person? Richer attempts to understand that each person has unity in heterogeneity. That is, within the individual are biological, social, physical, metal and we even daresay, spiritual aspects. The same person is not limited to one or the other, rather, s/he is all.

Finally, the person is enmeshed in ethics. He or she is an individual who aspires for something more for the Self. It is how the person interacts and lives with the other, in harmony and justice. And each story, each narrative is an awakening, or even an illumination which contributes to its perfection. Following Ricoeur’s mind: How far has the Self gone? Indeed, almost limitless!