NOTES ON THE DIALECTICS OF DISCOURSE, READING, AND INTERPRETATION IN PAUL RICOEUR

Abstract

The objective is to present the concept of interpretation in Paul Ricoeur. To do so, the three dialectics that support the concept of interpretation are analyzed: the dialectic of discourse, composed of event/occurrence (thesis) and meaning (antithesis); the dialectic of reading, composed of appropriation (thesis) and distancing (antithesis); and finally, the dialectic of interpretation, composed of understanding (thesis) and explanation (antithesis). The reading hypothesis defended in this article is that, on one hand, the three theses of the three dialectics - namely event, appropriation, and understanding - interrelate in a fundamental way, just as the three antitheses - namely meaning, distancing, and explanation - interrelate. Such interrelation is necessary for the very possibility of broadening and enriching interpretation, as proposed by Ricoeur’s hermeneutics.

Keywords: Hermeneutics. Paul Ricoeur. Interpretation. Reading. Discourse.