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

Authors

  • Patricia Anne Kostouros Mount Royal University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11575/jah.v0i2.53224

Keywords:

hermeneutics, existential, narrative self

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

Author Biography

Patricia Anne Kostouros, Mount Royal University

Department of Child and Youth StudiesAssociate Professor

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Published

2013-06-09

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