What do you think?
Rate this book
Figuring the Sacred: Religion, Narrative & Imagination
The thought of Paul Ricoeur continues its profound effect on theology, religious studies, and biblical interpretation. Introduced by Mark Wallace, the twenty-one papers collected in this volume-some familiar, many translated here for the first time-constitute the most comprehensive anthology of Ricoeur's writings in religion since 1970. The writings are thematically divided into five the study of religion philosophers of religion the Bible and genre theological overtures practical theologyRicoeur's hermeneutical orientation and his deep sensitivity to the mystery and power of religious language offer fresh insight into the transformative potential of sacred literature, including the Bible.
352 pages, paper
First published July 1, 1995
About the author
Paul Ricœur
341 books462 followersPaul Ricoeur (1913–2005) is widely recognized as one of the most distinguished philosophers of the twentieth century. In the course of his long career he wrote on a broad range of issues. His books include a multi-volume project on the philosophy of the will: Freedom and Nature: The Voluntary and the Involuntary (1950, Eng. tr. 1966), Fallible Man (1960, Eng. tr. 1967), and The Symbolism of Evil (1960, Eng. tr. 1970); a major study of Freud: Freud and Philosophy: An Essay on Interpretation (1965, Eng. tr. 1970); The Rule of Metaphor (1975, Eng. tr. 1977); Interpretation Theory: Discourse and the Surplus of Meaning (1976); the three-volume Time and Narrative (1983-85, Eng. tr. 1984–88); Lectures on Ideology and Utopia (1986); the published version of his Gifford lectures: Oneself as Another (1990, Eng. tr. 1992); Memory, History, Forgetting (2000, Eng. tr. 2004); and The Course of Recognition (2004, Eng. tr. 2005). In addition to his books, Ricoeur published more than 500 essays, many of which appear in collections in English: History and Truth (1955, Eng. tr. 1965); Husserl: An Analysis of His Phenomenology (1967); The Conflict of Interpretations: Essays in Hermeneutics (1969, Eng. tr. 1974); Political and Social Essays (1974); Essays on Biblical Interpretation (1980); Hermeneutics and the Human Sciences (1981); From Text to Action (1986, Eng. tr. 1991); Figuring the Sacred: Religion, Narrative, and Imagination (1995); The Just (1995, Eng. tr. 2000); On Translation (2004, Eng. tr. 2004); and Reflections on the Just (2001, Eng. tr. 2007).
The major theme that unites his writings is that of a philosophical anthropology. This anthropology, which Ricoeur came to call an anthropology of the “capable human being,” aims to give an account of the fundamental capabilities and vulnerabilities that human beings display in the activities that make up their lives. Though the accent is always on the possibility of understanding the self as an agent responsible for its actions, Ricoeur consistently rejects any claim that the self is immediately transparent to itself or fully master of itself. Self-knowledge only comes through our relation to the world and our life with and among others in that world.
In the course of developing his anthropology, Ricoeur made a major methodological shift. His writings prior to 1960 were in the tradition of existential phenomenology. But during the 1960s Ricoeur concluded that properly to study human reality he had to combine phenomenological description with hermeneutic interpretation. For this hermeneutic phenomenology, whatever is intelligible is accessible to us in and through language and all deployments of language call for interpretation. Accordingly, “there is no self-understanding that is not mediated by signs, symbols, and texts; in the final analysis self-understanding coincides with the interpretation given to these mediating terms” (Oneself as Another, 15, translation corrected). This hermeneutic or linguistic turn did not require him to disavow the basic results of his earlier investigations. It did, however, lead him not only to revisit them but also to see more clearly their implications.
The major theme that unites his writings is that of a philosophical anthropology. This anthropology, which Ricoeur came to call an anthropology of the “capable human being,” aims to give an account of the fundamental capabilities and vulnerabilities that human beings display in the activities that make up their lives. Though the accent is always on the possibility of understanding the self as an agent responsible for its actions, Ricoeur consistently rejects any claim that the self is immediately transparent to itself or fully master of itself. Self-knowledge only comes through our relation to the world and our life with and among others in that world.
In the course of developing his anthropology, Ricoeur made a major methodological shift. His writings prior to 1960 were in the tradition of existential phenomenology. But during the 1960s Ricoeur concluded that properly to study human reality he had to combine phenomenological description with hermeneutic interpretation. For this hermeneutic phenomenology, whatever is intelligible is accessible to us in and through language and all deployments of language call for interpretation. Accordingly, “there is no self-understanding that is not mediated by signs, symbols, and texts; in the final analysis self-understanding coincides with the interpretation given to these mediating terms” (Oneself as Another, 15, translation corrected). This hermeneutic or linguistic turn did not require him to disavow the basic results of his earlier investigations. It did, however, lead him not only to revisit them but also to see more clearly their implications.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Currently Reading
October 11, 2009I'm surprised I haven't already reviewed this-- I've been reading pieces of it on and off for over a year now. This is a nice collection of Ricoeur's shorter and lesser known work on Christianity-- from what I understand, he likes to keep philosophy and theology separate, on the idea that they answer different questions. In any case, looks interesting so far, but I get to it so rarely that it's difficult for me to give a coherent report on its contents. The philosophically minded and the lit people might like it, regardless of religious affiliation, but I expect that my Christian friends on the more conservative (dare I say fundy? Hm...) side of things might not like it, while my "post-evangelical" or "emergent" friends (ie, fans of NT Wright) don't see any use for anything that doesn't focus on reconstructing the first century Jewish understanding of Christ may not "get" the value of Ricoeur's work, which isn't so single-minded.
October 27, 2014
Some good, some not so good. But on the whole, reading it was a bit of a "limit-experience" for me, having several mind-blown moments that helped me understand or start to formulate responses to several long-term questions i've had about hermeneutics and bible interpretation.
August 5, 2025
Me parece un libro estupendo para entrar en la dialéctica de la hermenéutica a través de la religión, aunque para mi gusto peca un poco de tecnicismos porque no estoy acostumbrada a leer este tipo de libros, pero me parece fundamental incluso a la hora de darle un “ser” a aquello que escribimos. Cómo el lenguaje se forma dando un sentido a las cosas.
Read
December 9, 2022315-329
August 10, 2014
I am not going to do a chapter by chapter analysis of Figuring the Sacred. Not every chapter was equally good. Some of his musings on Heidegger and Kant were interesting but not germane to narrative theology.
"Philosophy and Religious Language"
"Understanding a text is always something more than the summation of partial meanings; the text as a whole has to be considered as a hierarchy of topics" (Ricoeur 38). This makes me think of chiasms. The structure of a chiasm reinforces meaning. Meaning unfolds from narrative.
"Not just any theology whatsoever can be tied to narrative form, but only a theology that proclaims Yahweh to be the grand actor of a history of deliverance. Without a doubt it is this point that forms the greatest contrast between the God of Israel and the God of Greek Philosophy" (40).
Manifestation and Proclamation
This is the most important essay in the book and the one that causes much offense. Ricoeur opposes a philosophy of manifestation (ontotheology) with a philosophy of proclamation (Yahweh speaks).
Manifestation
The "numinous" element of the sacred has nothing to do with language (49). Another key element is theophany--not moments in the biblical narrative, but anything by which the sacred shows itself (icons, relics, holy places). This means that reality is something other than itself while remaining itself.
There is a correspondence between macrocosm and microcosm (54). This brings to mind the Luciferian "as above, so below" dictum.
Proclamation
There is a rupture--violent in the case of the prophets' war against Baalism--between manifestation and proclamation. The word outweighs the numinous (56). Israel's whole theology--and identity--was formed around discourses.
Per idols and icons: "We may say that within the Hebraic domain they (hierophanies) withdraw to the extent that instruction through Torah overcomes any manifestation through an image. A Theology of the Name is opposed to any hierophany of an idol...Hearing the word has taken the place of vision of signs" (56). God's pesel is the Ten Words. It is the only pesel he commanded.
Communal Readings
In "The 'Sacred' Text and the Community" Ricoeur gives a neat deconstruction of the concept "sacred," especially when applied with a book.
For us, manifestation is not be necessity linked to language. The word 'sacred' belongs to the side of manifestation, not to the side of proclamation, because many things may be sacred without being a text (71)
Ricoeur the Hermeneut
His reading of Genesis 1:1-2:4a is interesting, but more for the method than the conclusions. His essay on the Imagination is quite valuable in showing what "goes on" in a narrative. Many narratives in the Bible, particularly Jesus's parables, employ intertextuality which always forces an expansion of meaning from the text. In other words, it is "an object with surplus value" (152). Assuming that the Holy Spirit didn't write chaotically and randomly, isolated texts are now seen in a pattern and signify something else, something more (161).
Ricoeur then moves to a section on biblical time, which is useful for meditation. He summarizes von Rad, Cullman, and others. I won't belabor the point.
His essay "Interpretive Narrative" offers his famous distinction between "idem" identity (the god of sameness, the god of Greek metaphysics) and ipse identity (the God who is constant to the Covenant). He expands this motif in "Naming God." God's identity is seen in his historic acts.
Conclusion
While magnificent, it is in many ways a difficult read. He assumes a familiarity with Continental Philosophy (itself a daunting task) and even then some essays don't seem to have a point. But when he unloads on narrative he truly delivers.
"Philosophy and Religious Language"
"Understanding a text is always something more than the summation of partial meanings; the text as a whole has to be considered as a hierarchy of topics" (Ricoeur 38). This makes me think of chiasms. The structure of a chiasm reinforces meaning. Meaning unfolds from narrative.
"Not just any theology whatsoever can be tied to narrative form, but only a theology that proclaims Yahweh to be the grand actor of a history of deliverance. Without a doubt it is this point that forms the greatest contrast between the God of Israel and the God of Greek Philosophy" (40).
Manifestation and Proclamation
This is the most important essay in the book and the one that causes much offense. Ricoeur opposes a philosophy of manifestation (ontotheology) with a philosophy of proclamation (Yahweh speaks).
Manifestation
The "numinous" element of the sacred has nothing to do with language (49). Another key element is theophany--not moments in the biblical narrative, but anything by which the sacred shows itself (icons, relics, holy places). This means that reality is something other than itself while remaining itself.
There is a correspondence between macrocosm and microcosm (54). This brings to mind the Luciferian "as above, so below" dictum.
Proclamation
There is a rupture--violent in the case of the prophets' war against Baalism--between manifestation and proclamation. The word outweighs the numinous (56). Israel's whole theology--and identity--was formed around discourses.
Per idols and icons: "We may say that within the Hebraic domain they (hierophanies) withdraw to the extent that instruction through Torah overcomes any manifestation through an image. A Theology of the Name is opposed to any hierophany of an idol...Hearing the word has taken the place of vision of signs" (56). God's pesel is the Ten Words. It is the only pesel he commanded.
Communal Readings
In "The 'Sacred' Text and the Community" Ricoeur gives a neat deconstruction of the concept "sacred," especially when applied with a book.
For us, manifestation is not be necessity linked to language. The word 'sacred' belongs to the side of manifestation, not to the side of proclamation, because many things may be sacred without being a text (71)
Ricoeur the Hermeneut
His reading of Genesis 1:1-2:4a is interesting, but more for the method than the conclusions. His essay on the Imagination is quite valuable in showing what "goes on" in a narrative. Many narratives in the Bible, particularly Jesus's parables, employ intertextuality which always forces an expansion of meaning from the text. In other words, it is "an object with surplus value" (152). Assuming that the Holy Spirit didn't write chaotically and randomly, isolated texts are now seen in a pattern and signify something else, something more (161).
Ricoeur then moves to a section on biblical time, which is useful for meditation. He summarizes von Rad, Cullman, and others. I won't belabor the point.
His essay "Interpretive Narrative" offers his famous distinction between "idem" identity (the god of sameness, the god of Greek metaphysics) and ipse identity (the God who is constant to the Covenant). He expands this motif in "Naming God." God's identity is seen in his historic acts.
Conclusion
While magnificent, it is in many ways a difficult read. He assumes a familiarity with Continental Philosophy (itself a daunting task) and even then some essays don't seem to have a point. But when he unloads on narrative he truly delivers.
March 25, 2009
Fullof brilliant insight. Not an easy read, but amply repays the trouble.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews