Interpretation…

"Interpretation… is the work of thought which consists in deciphering the hidden meaning in the apparent meaning, in unfolding the levels of meaning implied in the literal meaning."

— Paul Ricoeur, The Conflict of Interpretations: Essays in Hermeneutics

Ricoeur and Lacan

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This is the first comparative study of the work of the philosopher Paul Ricoeur and the psychoanalayst Jacques Lacan. The book explores the conflict between the two thinkers that arose from their differing views of ethics: Ricoeur's universalist stance drew on a phenomenological reading of Kant, whereas Lacan's was a relativist position, derived from a psychoanalytic reading of Freud and de Sade. Ricoeur and Lacan gives a full critical overview of the work of both figures, tracing the origins and development of their principal ideas, and identifying key similarities and differences. Not only a valuable and original addition to the literature on two major thinkers, Ricoeur and Lacan is also an important study of contemporary Continental ethics.