The Dimension Of Action And Morality

This paper aims to study the theory of "Hermeneutics of the Self" put forward by French philosopher Paul Ricoeur and to analyze its dimensions of action and morality.The exploration of "self" is an important philosophical problem,which has been discussed by many philosophers.Ricoeur's writing and thinking throughout his life have always responded to the proposition that "how a person acts with certainty in his ethical life".Facing all kinds of philosophical disputes,Ricoeur hopes to strike a unique path,which is what he called as "Hermeneutics of the Self".Influenced by Freud and Heidegger,he changed from what he earlier engaged in phenomenological field to hermeneutics studies.Since Heidegger was not in favor of taking an approach of "short distance",Ricoeur hoped to adopt a way of "roundabout reflection" and sought the solution to the mystery of "self" through these analyses such as language,narration and moral philosophy.Through dialogue with analytical philosophy,he criticized the philosophy of action of Anscombe and Davidson.Paul pointed out that since the reflection on the action would fall into the dilemma of "Cogito" from Descartes,the understanding of human activities must start from the actor himself and reflect on the subject of action from the analysis of the narrative as the "intermediary".Through the narration analysis on the superiority and possibility of self,Ricoeur came up with a path from text to action,and finally established a set of "Self Ontology" through the dialectics of "Sameness" and "Selfhood" as well as "Selfhood" and "Other".The attention to the Other highlights the ethical dimension of narration.Ricoeur made aware that it is the actor's ethical intention that drives him to act.Therefore,through the explanation of teleological moral concept proposed by Aristotle's and the reflection of formalist moral concept of Kant,the "practical rationality" is finally reconstructed.This paper will be discussed in five parts as follows: the first chapter mainly gives an introduction to the cause of Ricoeur's "Hermeneutics of the Self",currentresearch status at home and abroad and the framework of this paper.Chapter two focuses on an overview of the transformation of Ricoeur's thoughts,important writings and theoretical sources,thus presenting the ideological background of his Hermeneutics of the Self.The third and fourth chapters respectively discuss the explanation of human action and the explanation of self-morality,so as to further analyze the dimensions contained in Ricoeur's Hermeneutics of the Self.The last part draws a evaluate and a reflect on the previous studies of Hermeneutics of the Self,and discusses the methodological characteristics of his philosophy,and its unique contribution to the philosophy problem of "self".