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The Attestation of the Self As a Bridge Between Hermeneutics and Ontology in the Philosophy of Paul Ricoeur Sebastian Kaufmann Marquette University

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The Attestation of the Self As a Bridge Between Hermeneutics and Ontology in the Philosophy of Paul Ricoeur Sebastian Kaufmann Marquette University Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette Dissertations (2009 -) Dissertations, Theses, and Professional Projects The Attestation of the Self as a Bridge Between Hermeneutics and Ontology in the Philosophy of Paul Ricoeur Sebastian Kaufmann Marquette University Recommended Citation Kaufmann, Sebastian, "The ttA estation of the Self as a Bridge Between Hermeneutics and Ontology in the Philosophy of Paul Ricoeur" (2010). Dissertations (2009 -). Paper 34. http://epublications.marquette.edu/dissertations_mu/34 THE ATTESTATION OF THE SELF AS A BRIDGE BETWEEN HERMENEUTICS AND ONTOLOGY IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF PAUL RICOEUR by Sebastian Kaufmann A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 2010 ABSTRACT THE ATTESTATION OF THE SELF AS A BRIDGE BETWEEN HERMENEUTICS AND ONTOLOGY IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF PAUL RICOEUR Sebastian Kaufmann Marquette University, 2010 Ricoeur defines attestation as the “assurance of being oneself acting and suffering” or as the “assurance – the credence and the trust – of existing in the mode of selfhood.” In this dissertation I discuss the concept of attestation in Ricoeur’s philosophy in relation to the main dimensions of the self: Capacities, personal identity, memory and otherness. I state that attestation is the key to the three dialectics of Ricoeur’s hermeneutics of the self: The dialectic between reflection and analysis, the dialectic between idem -identity and ipse -identity and the dialectic between oneself and other. In these three dialectics, attestation, as the assurance of being oneself acting and suffering, allows the self to appropriate its otherness: The otherness of its capacities, the otherness of its identity, the otherness of its body, of other people and of its conscience. In other words, the self gains the confidence of being a self through the confidence that the actions it performs and the words it says are its own actions and words; the confidence that the narratives it tells express its own identity; the confidence that the body is its own body; the confidence that the esteem of others mediates its own esteem and that the values that it embraces are its own values. This analysis is made in the first four chapters of this dissertation. In the fifth chapter I explore the relationship between attestation and recognition. Attestation is not only necessary to understand the self at a hermeneutical level, but at the same time attestation shows a main ontological trait of the self: The self is attestation in the sense that the self is the confidence of existing as a self, confidence that is gained by appropriating its otherness. Thus, the concept of attestation along with providing an understanding of the self through otherness (hermeneutical level) shows us that to become a self we need to attest to our self by appropriating our otherness (ontological level). Then, as a conclusion, we can state that attestation serves as a bridge between hermeneutics and ontology in the philosophy of Paul Ricoeur. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Sebastian Kaufmann Many people have made the completion of this dissertation possible. First of all, I thank the Society of Jesus. To the Jesuits I owe most of my human, spiritual and academic formation which I received first at High School and then in the different stages of my formation as a Jesuit scholastic. At the same time, the Jesuits, through the “Universidad Alberto Hurtado” (the Jesuit University of Chile), supported me and encouraged me to come to Marquette University to do my doctoral studies. I thank the Philosophy Department at Marquette University for its academic, human and financial support. I also want to thank the Chilean Government, who gave me the fellowship “Beca Presidente de la República,” as well as the Arthur J. Schmitt Foundation for their financial support I thank Dr. Pol Vandevelde, for his patience, dedication and help, and for all that I have learnt from his courses and through our conversations. He was an excellent teacher, director, advisor and friend. I thank Dr. Javier Ibañez-Noe, Dr. Noel Adams, and Dr. Sebastian Luft for reading the dissertation and for their valuable insights. I am particularly grateful to my classmate and good friend, Arun Iyer, who had the kindness and generosity of proofreading this dissertation. I am indebted to my parents, Willi and Gabriela, who have given to me all the love and support that one may wish and need. Finally, I am deeply thankful to my beloved wife Carina, for her love and constant encouragement and inspiration during all these years of hard work. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. i INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 1. Objective of the dissertation ........................................................................................ 1 2. Attestation in the context of the crisis of the cogito .................................................... 2 3. Attestation in the context of the hermeneutics of testimony ....................................... 5 4. Attestation in the context of the hermeneutics of the self ......................................... 12 CHAPTER 1: ATTESTATION AND THE PHENOMENOLOGY OF CAPABLE BEING ................................................................................................... 21 1.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 21 1.2. To be able to speak .................................................................................................... 25 1.2.1. The semantic and the pragmatic approach .................................................. 26 1.2.2. Attestation and the capacity to speak .......................................................... 29 1.3. To be able to do things .............................................................................................. 32 1.3.1. Ricoeur’s concept of action ........................................................................ 33 1.3.2. Intention as the link between the agent and the action ............................... 34 1.3.3. Ricoeur’s theory of action ........................................................................... 38 1.3.4. Attestation and to be able to do things ........................................................ 41 1.4. To be able to tell a story ............................................................................................ 44 1.4.1. The narrative unity of life ........................................................................... 45 1.4.2. The narrative unity of life and attestation ................................................... 52 1.5. To be imputable ......................................................................................................... 55 1.5.1. Imputability and reflexivity ........................................................................ 56 1.5.2. Imputation and attestation ........................................................................... 58 1.6. Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 59 CHAPTER 2: ATTESTATION AND PERSONAL IDENTITY ............................... 63 2.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 63 2.2. Identity as sameness .................................................................................................. 65 2.3. Character and the dialectic between sameness and ipseity ....................................... 68 2.4. Promises and ipseity .................................................................................................. 74 2.5. Identity and narrative ................................................................................................ 80 2.5.1. The threefold mimesis................................................................................. 82 2.5.2. Narrative identity ........................................................................................ 95 2.5.3. The articulation of sameness and ipseity in narrative ................................. 97 iv 2.5.4. Fragile identity .......................................................................................... 101 2.5.5. Narrative identity and attestation .............................................................. 106 CHAPTER 3: ATTESTATION OF THE PAST: MEMORY .................................. 109 3.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 109 3.2. The ambiguity of memory ....................................................................................... 110 3.3. The fragility of memory .......................................................................................... 112 3.3.1. Memory and fiction................................................................................... 115 3.3.2. Memory and forgetfulness ........................................................................ 116 3.3.3. Memory and manipulation ........................................................................ 123 3.4. Attestation and memory .........................................................................................
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