Hermeneutics and the Sublime Imagination: How Firefighters Put Interpretation into Practice

Abstract

Firefighting, I wish to argue, calls forth a hermeneutical sense of the imagination arising out of experiences of the sublime and characterized not so much by the reproduction of images, but rather by the evocation of action in the face of displacement. First, I observe that the fire service benefits from investing resources into wellness programs, but argue philosophical resources are also needed. Specifically, I suggest that firefighter responses to traumatic events can be understood hermeneutically as moments of displacement. Second, I suggest that these moments of displacement take on characteristics of the sublime through which the imagination is overwhelmed and expanded. Third, I develop Ricoeur’s hermeneutical imagination to argue it is best understood as an evocation of novel ways to act in the face of displacement. Finally, I conclude the hermeneutical imagination gives firefighters vital ways to cultivate an openness to the many displacements they face on the job.