The Dialectical Relationship Between Itself And The Others

The notion of "subject" is inevitably a problem in philosophical researches. How it shall be dealt with would be a vital question that we have to face. The subject is an undeniable fact to which we can’t turn a blind eye. In this sense, Ricoeur proposes, instead of following the post-modernism so as to deconstruct the notion of subject, a theoretical conception of the hermeneutics of self, bringing the problem of subject from the regimes of epistemology and of ontology to that of hermeneutics. It becomes increasingly doubtful that we look for some philosophical foundation and identity in the atmosphere of modern and contemporary cultures, especially when such practices encounter the queries and challenges of diversity and alterity. For Ricoeur, the crux of the problem of subject is to re-explicate and to re-understand the position of subject and its limits in philosophy, which would lead to the hermeneutical basis for the philosophy of subject. The problem of philosophy of subject turns into a hermeneutical question. Hermeneutics is ultimately towards the philosophy of subject. A hermeneutical grasp of subject is a reflexive and roundabout process, to which the role of intermediary is indispensable. Accordingly, Ricoeur substitutes the question of "Who?" for the close attention to "What?" in the traditional philosophy of subject. In this way, we deviate from the philosophical tradition of "Cogito" inaugurated by Descartes:the subject as other needs to reseize its self-explanation and self-understanding in reflexion, instead of a determinate and self-evident "I" of Cogito. The other is the intermediary condition for the return to self.The subject is neither a determinate and self-evident departure, nor the ultimate category. The reflexive and roundabout process, instead of being interior, belongs to the action with its exterior intermediary. Ricoeur develops critically the hermeneutical tradition, and reforms phenomenology in the horizon of hermeneutics, extending the textual scope to the speeches and actions of subject. The hermeneutics of self responds to the question of "Who?" within its four dimensions:speech, action, narration and ethics, deployed in accordance with the dialectical relationship between self and the other, sameness and selfness, selfness and alterity. Ricoeur adopts philosophy of language, with the help of analytical philosophy and semantics, to question the way people recognize at the very beginning the self in language. By doing so, Ricoeur reminds us to notice the effects exercised by the oblivious and neglected language on the philosophy of subject. The subject can only be aware of itself in language and in intermediary of the other. This is a response to the dissolution of subject in language asserted by the structural semiotics. The subject can be truly realized only in pragmatics. Action must have its actor who has to be responsible for his actions. The belongingness of action responds to the question:"Who" is acting. It also upgrades the hermeneutical subject and reflexion to the ontological level. The dimensions of speech and of action are indivisible for subject. Ricoeur moves further to settle the two in narration for some explanation. It is the introduction of the dimension of narration that Ricoeur contributes essentially to the philosophy of subject. The question of "Who" is posed and developped in the dimension of narration. The narrative subject is understood and grasped in the story. Narration links speech and action, and also gives birth to the ethical dimension. Ricoeur highlights the responsibility of subject. His ethical thought focuses on the way "I" could avoid hurting others. It mainly has three aspects, namely self-respect, solicitude to others, and just institutions. Ricoeur’s examination of subject is not in accordance with the requirements of sameness, instead, it emphasizes the roles of selfness and of the other. The subject is not given or vested. It is embodied as a desire for existence, maintaining its identity in the alienation through its own logical force. The other is not an obstacle for the self. It is the journey for arriving at the self. Such roundabout and long journey is different from the Heideggerian ontology of comprehension. In comparison with Heideggerian ontological foundation, Ricoeur proposes an ontological hope. The ontology is the home of hope for the philosophy of subject.One more thing needs to be made clear. No matter how creative is Ricoeur’s philosophy of subject, it is not unassailable, and cannot solve all the problems of subject. This dissertation will pay more attention to the perspectives and methods that Ricoeur applies to the question of subject, and to his fruits of saving the subject’s destiny of downfall.